


Stuck With Me: The Post Grad Years

by MariaVT



Series: Stuck With Me [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Green Arrow (Arrow TV 2012), Alternative Universe - No Island, Angst, Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Infidelity, Jealousy, Male-Female Friendship, Resolved Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Tommy Merlyn Lives, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-09-18 22:53:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 47,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20320846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaVT/pseuds/MariaVT
Summary: It has been one year since Felicity left the life she built in Boston behind to work for Queen Consolidated, but when the unexpected happens and her world is turned upside down how will she handle the fallout?Honestly, I'm so terrible at summaries... so please read?Part three of my Olicity high school-adulthood AU*Complete*





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, here we are at the start of the third installment. I appreciate all of you that have stuck through all the hardship and heartache with me, this story is definitely your reward for your patience. I hope you enjoy this one =]

Felicity’s heels clicked in the echoing hall as she made her way to the elevator. She pressed the button for the appropriate floor and tried to keep herself as still as possible in the car full of people, but her nerves were skittering across her skin like electric currents and she wanted to rock on her heels and curl the ends of her ponytail around her finger. The ding of the elevator hitting her floor sent a spike of adrenaline rushing through her and she nearly tripped on her way out. The click of her heels a little slower this time as she walked all the way down the hall.

“You can go right in Felicity, he’s ready for you.” The warm smile on the elderly woman’s face did little to settle Felicity’s nerves.

“Thank you Gladys.” She managed to say, barely more than a whisper, before she turned to her right and entered the CEO’s office.

“Good morning Felicity.” Robert gave her a relaxed smile as he glanced up from his computer monitor. “Just give me one moment to finish this email and I’ll be right with you.” He resumed his typing, seeming relaxed and unbothered.

“Okay.” Felicity tangled her fingers together nervously in front of her as she stood.

“Felicity?” Robert gave her an amused smirk.

“Yes?” Her voice cracked with nerves.

“Please have a seat.” He gestured to the chair in front of him and she quickly sat gripping the edges of the cushion tightly as she waited for him to finish his email. Once he did he glanced up at her, chewing nervously on her lip and gave her another soothing smile. “You can relax, you know.” He tapped the desk in front of him thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine you are that scared of me, you certainly seemed fine at dinner last night.” Felicity finally released her lip from the maltreatment of her teeth.

“Well the statistical likelihood of me being fired at dinner last night was much lower than it is right now.” An anxious laugh bubbled up from her chest as her cheeks grew warm. “Is now a good time to point out that I am without a doubt the single most valuable member of your technical division. That’s including my so called ‘supervisor’.” She put the last word in air quotes as her babble continued to gather steam. “Letting me go would be a major error for this company.” She drew in a breath to continue but Robert cut her off.

“I agree.” He said softly. “Which is why you aren’t being fired.” His smirk had a playful edge to it and Felicity could see Oliver so clearly in the curve of his lip.

“I assumed, when you brought me up here it was because…” She pulled her thumb across her throat in a slicing motion. “Everyone in the IT department told me a performance review with the CEO was code for getting the boot.” She took a deep breath and deflated into her chair.

“Maybe for other people a trip up here could be scary but come on Felicity,” He raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief. “You’re family, I would never fire you without having a serious talk outside the office first.” Her blush returned, and she felt a little silly for worrying so much on the trip up here.

“I think I knew that logically, but I just really love this job and I love working here and… and I…” She paused, taking a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. “I really don’t want to disappoint you.” It’s probably a little more telling than she would like but Robert was as kind as ever when he smiled across the desk at her.

“I am so very proud of you kiddo, I’m sorry if I don’t say that enough.” He set his palms down on the desk in front of him. “But I should probably get to the real reason I called you up here. I wanted to be the one to give you your first performance review because I’m moving you out of your current position.” Felicity’s mouth fell open, unsure how to react.

“So… what position did you have in mind?” She scooted to the edge of her seat, eyes trained on Robert’s for any sign of news she wouldn’t like.

“Well hiring you was borderline nepotism, I had to be careful with where I placed you and mid-level IT was the best I could do with the board’s disapproval of my decision to hire you in the first place. But now that you have been here for a year and your performance has been nothing short of spectacular I have the board’s approval to make you Vice President of Development Technology. I know it’s a small department but I think it’s a place where your skills will be most useful.” A mist of tears formed in Felicity’s eyes and she sniffed softly, drawing Robert’s attention immediately. “Is that not where you’d like to be?” His eyebrows drew together in concern. “We can discuss a different department if you’d prefer.”

“No, no.” She shook her head sharply and he extended a tissue box, Felicity took one to dab at her eyes. “I’m not upset, I’m happy. That’s exactly where I want to be and thank you so much for this opportunity, I won’t let you down.” She squared her shoulders and gave him a bright smile.

“I know you won’t, that’s why you’re the right woman for the job.” They discussed a few details and then made plans for dinner that night. Sara had been working a lot of late shifts so Felicity spent many nights having dinner with the Queens or her mom and Quentin rather than spending the night in their apartment alone.

A warm happiness buzzed through her as she made her way back down to the IT department, coming back to Starling had been such a difficult choice for Felicity but seeing the rewards of that risk take shape had a lightness filling her that hadn’t been there in months.

***

“Lissy! Can you grab me a sparkling water while you’re down there?” Thea’s voice floated down the stairs as Felicity walked into Queen manor.

“You got it Speedy!” Felicity called back, her voice echoing in the cavernous space.

“Worst nickname ever!” Thea cried in indignation.

“Take it up with your brother!” There was a broad smile on Felicity’s face when she turned the corner into the kitchen. Raisa was at the sink peeling vegetables and humming softly, she looked up when she heard Felicity’s heels on the hard floor.

“Hello Mrs. Felicity, how was your day?” The older woman stopped what she was doing to give Felicity her full attention and it had warm affection swelling in Felicity’s chest.

“My day was excellent Raisa, I got a promotion at work and now I get to torture Thea with ninth grade Algebra homework.” She laughed happily. “How are you today?”

“I’m so happy for you and I’m very good, thank you.” Somehow Raisa was always happy and someday maybe Felicity would learn the secret to that happiness, but for now she would just bask in it for a little while.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any rice crispy treats left from yesterday would you?” Felicity gave an innocent smile and Raisa held up a finger before retreating into the pantry. When she returned she had treats for both Felicity and Thea, as well as the sparkling water Thea requested. Felicity gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek before running upstairs with her bounty.

“Alright Speedy let’s conquer some equations.” Felicity spoke as she entered Thea’s bedroom but she was caught off guard by the sight of Oliver on Thea’s computer monitor.

“Hey Felicity.” He gave her a bright smile and her heart stuttered in her chest.

“You cut your hair.” Her voice was a little breathless and she couldn’t stop staring at the much shorter cut and slight beard scruff that Oliver was sporting. He looked so much more mature with the small change and that combined with his broad smile was unfairly attractive.

“Do you like it?” I let Tommy talk me into it and I’m still not sure how I feel.” He ran a hand over the short strands, unable to tug on them as he used to, his cheeks a little pink. But Felicity’s fingers still itched to run over it, to feel the soft prickles against the palm of her hands before sliding them to his cheeks to feel the sharper texture of his scruff.

“I think it looks great, you should take Tommy’s advice more often.” Felicity walked closer to the monitor and set the snacks and drink on the desk. “Actually on second thought stick to fashion advice from Tommy and don’t listen about anything else.” They both laughed at that. “How are you? I feel like it’s been ages since we talked properly.” She wanted so badly to reach through the screen and fall into his arms, she had almost forgotten how much she missed him until this moment.

“Unfortunately that’s going to have to continue for now, I have to run to work but let’s catch up sometime this week?” He raised his eyebrows and she just nodded in response forcing a tight smile. “Alright, you be good Speedy, I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too.” She waved him off but there was a broad grin on her face.

“And you Felicity.” He smiled and her heart ached with longing.

“You too.” She kissed her fingers and pointed them to the screen. “Give everyone my love.” He agreed and signed off the skype call, the image of his smile burned into Felicity’s eyes as her fingers stroked along her throat absentmindedly.

“Earth to Lissy.” Thea snapped her fingers in front of Felicity’s face and the blonde jumped.

“What?” She blinked several times and focused on Thea.

“Are we going to do this homework or what?” Thea’s smile was a little too knowing so Felicity hurried to get to work on tutoring, hoping to take her mind off a certain devastatingly handsome brother of Thea’s.

***

Later that week there was a rare afternoon that Sara wasn’t working and Felicity was trying to make the most of it, she ordered a nice dinner and had a good bottle of red she’d been saving that she opened as soon as she got home from work. She handed Sara a glass and gave her a lingering kiss, pulling back with a smile.

“So I had an idea since summer is practically here.” Felicity sat beside Sara on the couch tucking her legs underneath her.

“Hm?” Sara flipped through some channels and took a sip of her wine.

“What if we took a couple weeks’ vacation and went back to Boston?” Felicity was still smiling happily when Sara turned to her.

“Why?” It sounded a little bit like an accusation and Felicity was startled by the tone.

“To see our friends?” Felicity spoke slowly, utterly puzzled that Sara hadn’t immediately agreed. “We’ve been here a year and I miss the east coast, wouldn’t it be nice to see a sunrise over the ocean instead of a sunset for a change?” Felicity tried to laugh but it was brittle at best.

“Our friends come back to Starling for visits, we’ll probably see them at Thanksgiving.” Sara shrugged, averting her gaze in a way that Felicity knew was her trying not to start a fight. But sudden anger flared in her chest that Sara even briefly thought this was worth fighting about.

“That’s months away Sara.” She spoke sharply. “Don’t you miss Laurel? She hasn’t been here for a visit since Christmas, she’s too busy with law school.” Felicity sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “And don’t you miss anything about Boston? The loft? The coffee shop? The warehouse where we had our first kiss? Boston is where we fell in love, I thought maybe that meant something to you too.” Felicity bristled.

“What does it matter? This is home Felicity.” Sara turned her eyes to Felicity, sparks of anger in the pale blue.

“Maybe for you it is, but I miss the home and the family I had for the best five years of my life.” Felicity tamped down the emotion she felt tightening her throat, refusing to cry and make Sara think she was winning.

“Then go, why do you need me to use my vacation days for you to relive your glory years?” The dismissive tone had Felicity rising to her feet, brushing her skirt down lightly. She was well aware that the less emotion she showed the angrier Sara would become, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“I don’t know Sara, I thought my wife might like to take a vacation with me to a place I thought was important to both of us. But clearly I was wrong.” She kept her face calm and Sara jumped to her feet just as Felicity knew she would.

“You have had one foot out the door since the day we moved here!” Sara shouted, jabbing a finger in Felicity’s direction. “Sorry if I don’t want to take you back to a place that you would just love to leave me for.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Felicity threw her hands up in exasperation. “I miss my friends and the city, I didn’t think taking a trip there was such a crime!” Felicity’s voice continued to rise as she spoke.

“Of course you didn’t! Because you still resent that we moved here, that you didn’t get to interview with _Bruce Wayne_ and _Ted Kord_,” Sara’s voice turned full of mocking venom as she spoke the men’s names. “That I stifled your potential because I dared have ambitions of my own.” Sara’s knuckles popped as she made fists.

“I have always supported your ambitions, moving back to Starling was not my first choice but I did that for you.” Felicity pointed a finger at Sara, her voice deceptively cool. “I used my salary to pay for everything while you went through the academy, for you. I clean the apartment and keep myself busy in the evenings that I’m all alone, for you. So don’t you dare act like I haven’t supported you, all I ever do is support you Sara, and god I wish you would do the same for me.” Felicity sighed, rubbing at the headache forming between her eyebrows.

“It is always all about you!” Sara screamed. “Felicity this and Felicity that, poor Felicity has to spend her evenings in a mansion with a private chef, boo-fucking-hoo.” She sneered, her face reddening with anger.

“I can’t talk to you when you get like this!” Felicity turned her back to pace, too agitated to stay still.

“Like what Felicity?” She snapped, grabbing Felicity’s upper arm hard to make her stop moving.

“Jealous and petty.” Felicity spoke coldly, staring Sara down. “I don’t understand why you have such a problem with my having friends out of town and wanting to see them but I hate that we are even having this fight, this is ridiculous.” Sara’s hand tightened further and Felicity pulled back, but Sara wouldn’t relent. “Sara.” She tugged again with no response. “Sara, you’re hurting me.” She pulled hard enough that when Sara let go she stumbled back a step.

“Fine, then don’t have the fight with me, don’t worry about me Felicity, I’ll be waiting here for you like a good little wife, go wherever the fuck you want!” She crossed her arms stiffly.

“We need to cool off.” Felicity sighed.

“Oh no, don’t even say it.” Sara took a step forward but Felicity retreated a step.

“I’m going to stay with the Queens tonight.” Felicity spoke softly and Sara shook her head.

“Of fucking course, things get uncomfortable for the princess and she goes running off to her castle instead of staying here and dealing with them.” The sneer on her face stung Felicity’s heart sharply.

“We are just going to keep going in circles until we go to bed angry and I don’t have the energy for it. I’m also really sick of you being so nasty to me for no damn reason.” Felicity strode to the front hall and slung her bag over her shoulder. “You calling me princess used to be somewhat endearing, it is much less so now.” Felicity stepped into the hall and slammed the door behind her.

She cried all the way to the manor, Sara’s words cutting her deeply. She wanted to reach for her phone and call Oliver but she knew he was probably working and she didn’t want to bother him. When she parked near the garage she quickly touched up her makeup to make her tears less apparent and strode to the house with purpose, slipping inside and heading up the stairs and into Oliver’s old bedroom without announcing herself. She just wanted a few moments alone so she climbed into her side of the bed and tugged open the nightstand, flipping through some papers until she found the old copy of Emma she’d stored there in high school. It brought a weak smile to her lips so she pulled it into bed with her and started reading the first page.

Thea found her a couple chapters later, curled up into the pillows, feeling much more relaxed. “I saw your car in the drive, I didn’t think you were coming tonight.” Thea spoke flopping down on the bed with Felicity.

“Last minute change of plans.” Felicity gave Thea a soft smile. “I missed you too much.”

“Well if that were true, you would have come to my room instead of Ollie’s.” Thea lifted her brows. “What actually happened?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it Thea.” Felicity wrinkled her nose, nudging the younger girl with her toes.

“Well did you happen to bring the books you promised me?” Thea asked with hopeful eyes and Felicity smacked her forehead with a palm. She had indeed promised Thea to bring her a couple books about choosing colleges and strategies for application essays. It was still early in Thea’s high school career, as she was finishing her freshman year but she had her heart set on business or politics and she was taking her work very seriously. Felicity did everything she could to keep supporting that behavior.

“I actually forgot all about it, but I can run back to the apartment and grab them.” Thea’s bright smile was all the encouragement Felicity needed to haul herself up and promise to be back in a flash. She was mentally cataloguing her books as she drove figuring the ones she was looking for must be on her bedroom bookshelf.

She was still distracted when she entered the apartment and at first she didn’t notice the shirt Sara had worn earlier draped over the back of the couch. She also didn’t notice the light squeaking noise coming from the bedroom. But then she heard a moan of “Oh Sara, yes!” And her blood ran cold.

Suddenly the sound of sex coming from the bedroom was deafening, it was all Felicity could hear and her stomach rolled so sharply it almost took her to her knees. For a few moments she was utterly frozen until Sara’s voice broke her stillness. “You like that princess?” Felicity jolted like she’d been electrocuted, hearing those words on her wife’s lips spoken to someone else made her feel hollowed out, like everything good inside her had been stolen.

She moved on autopilot opening the bedroom door and striding toward her bookshelf as though nothing else was happening. The two women on the bed scrambled to cover themselves and Felicity just started scanning spines until she found the first book she was looking for, tugging it free and tucking it under her arm.

“Felicity?” Sara was a little out of breath and the smell of sex in the room was making Felicity physically ill but she didn’t react, not even a blink. She gathered the other books she had told Thea she’d grab and she turned back for the door. Out of the corner of her eye she realized the other woman in the bed was Ava Sharpe, a lieutenant on the force, and Sara’s boss. She almost laughed at the absolute cliché of it all, but she just left the room, Sara diving into clothes and following behind her. “Felicity!” She didn’t slow down, just marched out of the apartment and used her head start to get in the car and drive back to the Queen’s.

Sara caught up with her in the driveway of the manor, having sped on her motorcycle the entire way. “Felicity, stop!” She grabbed Felicity to physically force her to stand and talk. “I was pissed at you okay? I made a mistake.” Felicity finally couldn’t take any more and she barked a harsh, humorless laugh.

“You were pissed at me? So that gives you the right to fuck your boss in our bed?” Felicity was screaming now, and she didn’t give a damn when Sara tried to hush her. “No please proceed to tell me what justifies this particular transgression, I’m all ears here Sara!”

“What do you want? An apology?” Sara snapped, and that she had the audacity to act angry in anyway made this much easier for Felicity.

“You can take your apology and shove it up your ass!” Felicity broke free of Sara’s hold and made her way to the door. “Or here’s an idea!” She turned to scream back at Sara. “How about you have Ava shove it up there for you!” When she turned back she had gathered an audience, Thea, Moira, Raisa, and Clay were all standing on the front steps looking worried. She strode up and walked passed them all, Sara following in her wake.

“Mrs. Smoak?” Clay asked gently, his eyes trained on Sara.

“Don’t let her in the house.” Felicity’s voice was clipped and Clay gave her a sharp nod. Felicity heard her phone buzz in her purse and pulled it out to find texts from Oliver.

**OQ: Speedy called me…**

**OQ: The QC jet is fueled and ready for you.**

**OQ: Please come home.**

She took a steadying breath and turned back to Clay who had just shut the door on Sara. “Clay would you please drive me to the airfield in a moment?” He gave her another nod and slipped back with Raisa to allow the family to speak amongst themselves. Felicity’s thumbs moved across the screen in her hand.

**FS: On my way.**

When she placed her phone back in her purse she pulled the books out and handed them to Thea before grabbing her in a tight hug. “I’ll call you when I get to Boston.” She kissed Thea’s cheek and gave her one more tight squeeze. “Thank you for everything, I love you Speedy.”

“I love you too Lissy.” Thea clung for a moment longer before letting go so Felicity could turn to Moira. The two women clasped their hands tightly and Felicity felt a wave of emotion; sadness, and hurt, and shame, rise in her and Moira tightened her grip.

“None of that.” Moira said firmly. “You pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move forward now, do you understand me?” Felicity nodded, blinking back her tears.

“I need to speak to Robert about work.” Moira drew her into a tight hug and Felicity leaned into it before retreating to the hall and to Robert’s study. He was standing near the window, looking out to the drive.

“Come here sweetheart.” He held his arms open for Felicity and she strode over to him, clinging to a hug that felt familiar and almost as good as the one she really needed, but she was a long plane ride away from the arms she truly wanted to fall apart in so she just soaked up what she could then pulled back and squared her shoulders. Robert held up a hand to stop her before she could speak. “You can take all the time you need, paid leave, your job will still be here if you come back for it.”

“You don’t need to do that, indefinite paid leave is too much.” Felicity shook her head softly.

“It’s the least I can do. You take care of yourself first, I care far more about the Felicity Smoak I love like a daughter than I do about the Felicity Smoak that’s my vice president of development technology.” She gave him another grateful hug and turned back to the front hall.

Thea had a small suitcase packed and rolled it over to Felicity with a tight smile. Felicity took the handle and a deep breath before she gave everyone sad smiles and followed Clay out the front door. She strode right passed Sara, who was yelling but all Felicity could hear was the breaking of her heart. Clay kept the other woman far enough away that Felicity could drop into the back of the town car with her bag. She leaned her head against the cool window and closed her eyes, blocking out the world and just focused on making it to the other side of the country so she could fall apart in a place where her best friends would be there to catch her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! Hopefully things are turning in a more favorable direction for those of you that were struggling with the ending of the last story.


	2. Chapter 2

The fifth time Sara heard a door slam she couldn’t help herself any longer, she walked into the hallway to check on things.

“Oh I’m so sorry.” Donna snapped, her voice dangerously sharp. “Am I bothering you Sara? I’ll try to be quieter, I wouldn’t want to upset your delicate constitution.” The cold blue gaze of her mother-in-law made Sara desperate to fidget and look at the ground but she fought every instinct to appear unaffected.

“Just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.” Sara spoke through her teeth, forcing a smile.

“I think you’ve done enough, don’t you?” Donna flashed a broad smile that seemed even more frightening than her cold glare.

“Look, I’m sorry-.” She started but Donna raised her voice so high Sara shut her mouth with a snap, flinching slightly.

“Sara Katherine Lance! Don’t you dare give me your empty apologies or misplaced remorse after what you did to my baby girl.” Donna finished with a growl slamming yet another closet door hard enough to rattle the frames hanging on the wall. “I warned her three years ago that she made a mistake in marrying you.” Donna pointed an accusatory finger in Sara’s direction. “God I hoped I was wrong, I hoped you weren’t going to break my baby’s heart but you did.” Donna breezed past Sara with yet another box of Felicity’s things. “And you chose the worst possible way to do it. So congratulations Sara, you proved me right and destroyed your marriage for a quick fuck. I certainly hope she was worth it, surely you wouldn’t throw away three years of being married to the best girl in the world for something mediocre.” Donna dropped her box with the others by the door strutting on her platform heels to the kitchen and started boxing up Felicity’s dishes.

“Is she… Is she um… going to stay in Boston?” Sara had cast her gaze down, feeling fully chastised by the older blonde.

“Here’s the funny thing Sara,” Donna started, not even glancing in her direction. “You don’t get to know that. Not after you drove my daughter 3,000 miles away by fucking your boss in the bed you shared with her.” Donna set both hands on the counter, her head hanging between her shoulders. “I don’t think you can even fathom how angry I am at you.” Donna’s hands shook slightly and she gripped the counter more firmly to keep a handle on herself. “I think you should leave while I finish because I can’t even stand the sight of you right now.” Sara didn’t respond she just grabbed her keys and walked quietly out the front door.

Donna waited five minutes, to be absolutely sure that Sara was gone before she let her tears fall, her shoulders shaking with the heart wrenching pain that she couldn’t save Felicity from experiencing. She was so disgusted and angry that anyone could disrespect Felicity so completely, that Sara even for a moment could choose someone else and break the wedding vows that her baby girl had held sacred for the past three years. She gave herself a few minutes to cry then she wiped her tears and finished packing, holding herself strong so Felicity didn’t have to come back to Starling until she was ready.

***

Tommy and Laurel immediately offered Felicity her old room in the loft as soon as they heard what happened between her and Sara, but there were just too many memories there. She decided to stay at the brownstone with Oliver instead, having only positive memories of the house and wanting to have Oliver as close as possible while she hid out and licked her wounds.

She landed in Boston at eight in the morning and Oliver had his old Porsche parked at the airfield, wearing dark sunglasses since he clearly hadn’t slept since leaving the club a few hours earlier and he approached the plane the moment it stopped on the tarmac. Felicity walked down the stairs of the jet and right into his arms, she held on tightly, finally feeling safe and warm for the first time since she found Sara and Ava the night before.

“I’ve got you.” Oliver murmured into her hair when she tightened her hold on him. “What do you need? What can I do?” He spoke softly, pressing gentle kisses to her hair between his questions. She pulled her head back to look up at him, her body still caught in the cage of his arms.

“Just take me home.” She smiled sadly. “Please?”

“Of course, anything you need.” He tucked her under one arm and walked her to the car, opening her door and giving her a hand into the low seat before closing the passenger door and getting into the car himself. Felicity hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane, too worked up from what happened, and every time she closed her eyes she saw Sara and Ava tangled up in the sky blue sheets she had picked out for their ‘cotton’ anniversary. She hadn’t even realized how tired she was until she leaned across the center console and rested her head on Oliver’s shoulder. The car smelled exactly as it had for the past nine years, the soft smell of rich leather, a hint of gasoline, and _Oliver_. The subtle smell of his cologne was suffused into every inch of the car, and it made Felicity feel safe, like she had finally come home after too long away.

A gentle hand on her cheek had her eyes fluttering open, she then realized that she had been asleep and drooling, so she quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep.” She felt her cheeks warm and Oliver just chuckled.

“It’s okay, I am well aware that drool on my shirts is just a hazard of being your friend.” He winked at her before coaxing her out of the car and into the house. “Do you want some coffee?” He stifled a yawn as he walked into the foyer.

“No thanks, you look completely dead on your feet, why don’t you get some sleep?” Felicity kicked her shoes off next to the door and started toward the stairs. “I know you haven’t slept since you got off work.” She gave him a stern look.

“I wanted to be the one to pick you up, and I can stay awake if you need to talk.” His voice was sincere and it brought a pleased smile to Felicity’s face.

“You’re so wonderful for offering, but I haven’t slept either and I’m exhausted. We can take a nap then talk after.” Oliver just nodded and picked up her bag, following her to the fourth floor, dragging his tired feet the whole way. “Can I just take a quick shower? I smell like travel.” Felicity spoke softly as they entered the bedroom.

“Of course Felicity, you don’t have to ask, as far as I’m concerned it’s your home too.” Oliver offered a sleepy smile before shedding his clothes and climbing into bed. Felicity made quick work of her shower, she smelled like Oliver after using his soap and shampoo, and it brought a soft smile to her face. He was already asleep when she walked out of the steamy bathroom, but he reached for her as soon as she slid into the sheets, pressing his chest against her shoulders and tucking his knees into the crook of hers. Oliver was so much bigger than her and it made her feel completely surrounded by him, it was a safe feeling, one she didn’t realize she had missed so much until this moment.

***

When Oliver woke up several hours later he groaned, burrowing deeper into the warmth pressed against him. The smell of his own shampoo and soap in addition to his exhaustion made him slow to remember that Felicity had come home to Boston that morning. As soon as he realized the warmth he felt was Felicity he tightened his arms and opened his eyes to look at her. She was still sleeping, her lashes resting on her cheeks, and her lips slightly parted. She was so gorgeous like this, no makeup, her hair air dried in loose curls, and her face completely relaxed. A soft snore bled through her lips and a rush of something warm and happy filled his chest. He snuck a peek at the clock, they had been sleeping for six hours and it was now getting closer to the time that Oliver would normally start getting ready for work. But today he decided to turn off his alarm and relax with Felicity, probably skip out on the club all together so they could eat mint chip and watch movies.

He was content to lie there with her for several more hours, just holding her in the quiet but it had only been thirty minutes when she blinked awake. Her eyes flicked up to him and she gave a sleepy smile before twisting to glance at the clock. “Don’t you need to get ready for work?” Her brows were furrowed with concern.

“Don’t worry about it. I can ask Tommy if he’ll work tonight and if he can’t that’s what we have staff for.” Oliver shrugged, a small smile curling one side of his mouth.

“Don’t miss work for my sake, I’ll just go with you, I’d love the distraction.” Felicity got out of bed and knelt in front of the small suitcase Thea packed for her. “Hopefully my mom can get more stuff shipped out to me soon, I feel so silly running out of Starling with my tail between my legs.” She gave a nervous laugh but the red blush on the back of her neck told Oliver she was actually embarrassed about the way she left.

“It’s understandable that you left in a hurry, your wife had an affair.” Oliver kept his tone gentle. “And you don’t have to be funny for me, you know that right?” His voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket and she nodded.

“I do know that.” She gave a tight smile down toward her bag. “I appreciate you letting me stay here, and I appreciate the sentiment, you know that I do.” Felicity turned her eyes in Oliver’s direction for a moment to convey her sincerity. “But I really don’t want to talk about Sara right now.” Her voice was tight and the blush crawled from her neck up her cheeks and Oliver backed off.

“Okay, whatever you need, I meant that.” He stood up and dropped a kiss on her hair as he made his way into the shower. Once he was clean he dressed in a light grey suit with an open collared off-white button down shirt. “Do you want to get dinner before we-.” He fell silent as his lungs seized in his chest, Felicity was wearing a white ruffled mini skirt and a blue off the shoulder crop top that showed off a large swath of her mid-drift. His jaw worked a few times while he tried to formulate a thought.

“Is this insane? I think your sister packed my bag with her eyes closed, because this is the closest thing I have to club appropriate.” Felicity gave a little twirl that was in no way helpful to Oliver’s current problem.

“It’s perfect, there will be blacklights tonight so your skirt will glow.” He said in a strangled voice. He forced a smile and tried to clear the dryness out of his throat. “So dinner? I know it’s a little early but inventory needs to be done before the club opens and I won’t have a chance to step out after that.” Felicity just nodded and turned to head downstairs.

Oliver tried very hard not to stare at the smooth lengths of Felicity’s legs in the passenger seat of his car but it was not an easy battle, and when all was said and done he lost. She must be wearing body lotion with shimmer and the tiny gold flecks against her creamy thighs would be too much for anyone with a pulse that was attracted to women. And he was taking her to a night club where everyone else in the city would be able to see those lovely toned thighs… yeah this was sure to be a disaster.

***

“What’s the emergency?” Tommy jogged up to Oliver behind the bar, still wrestling with the knot of his tie after changing in a cab on the way in to Verdant.

“Oh thank god.” Oliver sighed in relief, his shoulders losing some of their tension. “I have to go make an appearance in the VIP section for some girls birthday, apparently she paid extra to rent out the space and she wants to see me. What I need from you is to keep an eye out for the pink wristbands in the crowd.” On blacklight nights they give out two glow stick wristbands to each customer that look neon under the lights, tonight the crowd was a sea of green but in the center near the DJ booth Tommy saw two pink bands reach up over a flash of blonde hair.

“Is that Felicity?” He asked, understanding dawning in his features.

“Yes, and she’s tipsy, she’s been pounding champagne since she got here. I can’t get out of this VIP thing, just please keep an eye on her.” Oliver was working himself into a panic.

“Of course Ollie.” Tommy gave a serious nod but Oliver stayed rooted to the spot still anxiously looking out at the crowd. “Seriously, I won’t take my eyes off her, and Laurel is right behind me. You can go.” Oliver gave him a stiff nod and took two champagne bottles up the stairs to the VIP section.

Felicity was clearly just fine dancing her little drunken heart out in the middle of the floor so Tommy allowed his gaze to follow Oliver upstairs. Of course there was no way to hear what was being said from that far away in a nightclub but Tommy kept his eyes on the tension he could see in Oliver’s back. He watched as a girl wearing a sash and tiara pretending to trip and threw her arms around Oliver, she made a big show of apologizing while also holding onto his arm and one of his lapels. Tommy rolled his eyes and smiled at the way Oliver steadied her before taking a large step backward and glancing down at the dancefloor, shooting longing looks at a certain blonde genius.

Oliver clearly gave himself a time limit because as Tommy looked on he seemed to stealthily check his watch every three minutes or so. Once that had happened five times a flash of wavy caramel colored hair filled Tommy’s vision. “I know I’m late, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Laurel spoke in a rush, sounding slightly out of breath and feeling very warm in Tommy’s arms.

“Did you run here?” He asked with a laugh, squeezing her tightly before pulling back to look at her face.

“Someone stole my cab.” She pouted, her full lips turning down at the edges. Tommy couldn’t help himself from kissing them.

“You could have just sent me a text.” He tangled his fingers with hers and gave her a fond smile.

“No I couldn’t.” She rolled her eyes and hopped up on the barstool beside him. “I had to turn my phone off because my sister will not stop calling and texting every thirty seconds. Apparently Felicity blocked Sara’s number and has now turned her own phone off so Sara can’t call her from someone else’s phone.” Laurel dropped her head into her free hand and rubbed at her face roughly. Then she jolted upright as though she forgot something. “Have you seen Felicity? Is she doing okay?” The concerned pull between Laurel’s brows had Tommy reaching over to smooth it with his lips.

“She is clearly fine.” He pointed toward the pink wristbands still flashing about in a spastic dance. “Ollie on the other hand.” He pointed up toward VIP where Oliver was trying to dodge girl hands and cell phone cameras without causing a scene, making progress back toward the bar at a glacial pace. He finally made his way to the stairs, Tommy and Laurel snickering at the girls trying to physically hold him back when suddenly Oliver started rushing down toward the dance floor. The other two quickly stopped their laughter and whipped their heads toward Felicity.

A small clearing had been made in the crowd where a tall man with curly hair was reaching for Felicity’s skirt as she backed away as quickly as her heels would let her. Tommy and Laurel start pushing through the crowd but Oliver beat them there.

“Get the fuck away from her.” Oliver spat as he shoved his way between Felicity and the man attempting to grope her.

“What the fuck man? I was here first.” Curly hair squawked indignantly, which was the exact wrong thing to say to a pissed off Oliver Queen trying to protect his Felicity.

“Excuse me?” Oliver’s voice went scary cold and he drew himself up to his full height. “This woman is not an object for you to stake your claim on, apologize to her, now.” The spark of anger in Oliver’s eyes had Tommy drifting even closer, desperately hoping he wouldn’t get a black eye for his efforts.

“She yours or something?” The man was stupid enough to step closer to Oliver and Tommy braced for impact when a small hand landed on Oliver’s shoulder, he instantly stepped back a little into her space, blocking more of her from view.

“She doesn’t belong to anyone but herself.” Oliver growled. “But you know what does belong to me? This club, and I have had about enough of your disrespectful bullshit.” He caught eyes with a bouncer near the clearing. “Get him out of here.” He turned to give Felicity his full attention. “Are you okay?” He smoothed both of his hands down her arms.

“I’m fine Oliver, it was just a handsy guy.” Felicity shrugged but her face held none of the joy from earlier in the night and she curled her arms around her midsection, covering her exposed belly.

“Let’s go sit in the office Felicity.” Laurel wrapped an arm around the smaller girl’s waist and headed back to the boys shared office space. Tommy doesn’t spend nearly as much time working in the club as Oliver, but they are still partners and Oliver will always leave room for Tommy to contribute in any way he wants to.

“Tell Oliver he is overreacting.” Felicity sighed to Laurel as soon as they all made it into the office. “It’s a nightclub, getting groped just happens sometimes, I’m the one that chose to wear this skirt.” She waved at the skirt in question, her legs looking a mile long in her white wedges.

“A short skirt is never an invitation to touch someone, and I shouldn’t be the one that has to tell you that.” Oliver scraped his hands over his short hair, wishing he had left it long enough to tug like he used to. “And after you said no he still wouldn’t back off, I’m never going to be able to walk away from that Felicity. Not if someone is upsetting you and touching you without your consent.” Tommy pulled a scotch bottle and tumblers off a drink cart behind his desk and poured everyone a couple fingers.

“How about we all take it down several notches and have a toast.” Tommy raised his voice to be heard over the squabbling and handed glasses to everyone before lifting his own in invitation. “To our very own Felicity Smoak, we are so happy to have you home with us.” A broad smile lit Tommy’s face. “To Felicity.”

“To Felicity.” Oliver and Laurel echoed while Felicity’s cheeks went pink.

“You guys are so sweet.” She drained her glass and thrust it out for Tommy to refill, the sadness in her expression only noticeable to Oliver.

***

“Tommy and that damn scotch bottle.” Oliver growled to himself as he helped Felicity out of the car teetering dangerously on her high shoes. Felicity was definitely drunk, she had been plenty tipsy when they got to the office but she had tipped the scales to completely wasted as they sat around and caught up with each other in the relative quiet.

After attempting to assist Felicity in walking up the front stairs of the house and having to catch her every few steps he simply reached down for the back of her knees and swung her up into his arms. Once the front door was locked behind them he walked her all the way up to his bedroom and laid her on the bed sitting beside her and pulling her hair free from its elastic, scratching her scalp, and fluffing her soft curls.

“You know you don’t have to watch me.” Felicity sighed, giving Oliver a knowing look. “This isn’t like Cooper.” His fingers found the zipper of her skirt and he lifted his brows in question, she nodded in return lifting her hips to help him.

“Who says I’m watching you?” Oliver smirked. “This was all a scheme to get into your pants.” He tugged her skirt down as punctuation, hoping for a laugh but Felicity’s face twisted into something that looked like hurt.

“Don’t make fun of me.” She seemed near tears and Oliver was utterly confused. “You never wanted me.” Thankfully she turned her face into a pillow so she couldn’t see Oliver’s jaw drop in shock. Sure he never told her out loud that he was in love with her but he thought his desire for her was obvious, Tommy and John certainly picked up on it easily and neither of them are nearly as smart as Felicity.

Oliver found it almost impossible to fall asleep that night, running Felicity’s words through his head over and over again. Did she not think that he was an option? Her comment didn’t outright confirm that she was interested in him but he started noticing the way Felicity looked at him years ago, he just knew she was too young and then once she was of age the timing was always wrong. And if he was being honest with himself he was afraid, he didn’t know what a romantic relationship would do to their friendship and that scared him. Felicity was so important to him as his best friend, as much as he loved her he worried he would screw up a relationship with her and lose her forever. That thought had him curling tighter around her as she slept, running a hand through her soft curls and trying not to panic at the idea of losing her.

***

Everyone decided to get Sunday hangover brunch the next morning at Felicity’s favorite Cambridge coffee shop and once the food had been served and the conversation lulled, Laurel cleared her throat. “So Felicity.” She started carefully. “Sara has been trying to get in touch with you since yesterday and she made me promise to ask if you would please call her.” There was a screech when Felicity’s fork and knife hit her plate too hard but she carefully set her cutlery down to prevent further unpleasant sounds.

“Sara can absolutely speak to me but I need something from you first.” Felicity lifted her gaze to Laurel. “Do you know any good divorce lawyers? She can submit any communication for me to my attorney.” Felicity primly picked up her silverware and continued her meal.

Hope surged in Oliver’s chest, he didn’t know what to think about everything that had transpired between Felicity and Sara but he hadn’t let himself dream that they would actually split up. Now Felicity was laying lines in the sand and Oliver was thrilled about it, sure he also hated himself because all of this meant Felicity was going to go through even more pain, but he couldn’t help the smile on his face as he stretched his arm over the back of Felicity’s chair, sipping his coffee as she tucked into her blueberry pancakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so grateful for all of you! I've had 1k hits in the last week and I can't believe all of you are still here and that more of you are joining us. This has been my first time really sharing my work and you guys have been so supportive I can't thank you enough. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think =]


	3. Chapter 3

It was all Tommy’s fault.

Felicity had been in town a couple days when Tommy mentioned at dinner that there was a malfunction in the club’s security system, and she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She almost couldn’t sleep running all the different possible scenarios through her head that could be causing the malfunction, so when she woke up at ten the next morning, knowing Oliver would sleep for several more hours she took matters into her own hands. Felicity slipped out of the brownstone and made her way to the club before Oliver was even awake. She left a note on the coffee maker that she had taken his club keys and then she called a cab and made her way downtown.

She turned on some music and got to work, losing herself in the mystery in front of her, she wasn’t even noticing the passing of time as she went from monitor to monitor behind the bar and checked the wiring in several nooks and crannies of the club. She had overseen the installation of the original system when the boys first remodeled and not much had changed so she was very familiar with the hardware.

She was behind the bar on her knees with her whole upper half wedged into an access panel when she heard the front door swing open.

“Felicity?” Oliver’s voice called into the cavernous space.

“Behind the bar!” She called even louder, her voice muffled by the walls.

“What have you been-.” He cut off with a choking sound when he came around the bar and Felicity’s ass was sticking straight up in the air. She was wearing black leggings but they were stretched out in her current position, making them just sheer enough to see the red underwear she had on. Oliver’s heart pounded wildly and he couldn’t drag his eyes away from the perfect rounded cheeks that were now wiggling as Felicity reached for something.

“Oliver? Hello?” Her voice sounded like it wasn’t the first time she had called him.

“What? Did you? I’m sorry?” He stammered out, his cheeks flushed and his mouth hanging open.

“I said, pass me the wire stripper, I don’t want to back out of here and lose what I’m holding onto.” He then noticed her little left hand waving next to her hip. He scrambled to grab the strippers and laid them carefully in her palm before straightening up, his eyes still glued to her ass. She propped one foot on the ground for better leverage and Oliver spun around, trying to calm down his racing pulse and the growing tightness in his pants.

“Have you two not listened to a word I said?” Felicity spoke, her voice no longer muffled by the walls and when Oliver turned to her he was undyingly grateful for the oversized Queen Consolidated sweater that hung down low enough to cover her ass. “Who did you even hire to work on this?” She planted her hands on her hips and looked up at him with contempt. “Seeing a network that poorly setup hurts me, in my soul.” She gestured to the wall she had crawled out of then clutched her heart. “I thought you were going to upgrade to copper wiring when you started running a heavier load, you know, like I told you to.” Her stern look was back and Oliver couldn’t stop staring at the smudge of dirt on her pale cheek.

“The electrician that we hired said copper wasn’t necessary.” Oliver winced a little, knowing what would come next was sure to be a lecture.

“Oliver Jonas Queen! Are the Christian Loubotin shoes on your feet necessary? Is your ridiculous Porsche necessary? Is the $300 scotch bottle in your office necessary?” She lifted her brows waiting for an answer.

“N-.” He started to respond but she immediately cut him off.

“No of course they aren’t but they are high quality that will last and allow you to get the maximum amount of use out of them while still being comfortable and making you look good. Copper wiring is an investment that will save you time and effort in the future, Tommy said the system gets bogged down with too many orders and sometimes the music gets patchy when the club is insanely busy, that’s because these flimsy little wires are being overloaded. Do you have any idea how much work I have to do here?” She brought her fingers to the bridge of her nose, smearing a little more dirt on her face.

“I really don’t have any idea, but I will take your word for it.” Oliver started carefully. “I need to make phone calls to distributers and some promotion people in my office, but just order anything you need to get this place optimal and charge it to the company trust.” Oliver knocked on the bar and started to retreat.

“Hang on Oliver.” She motioned toward him and he stopped in his tracks. “I’ll need you to sign off on those purchases, should I write up a list?” She rested her elbows on the bar, leaning over so they were closer. He couldn’t help himself, he just had to reach across and wipe the smudges off her face with his thumb.

“No you don’t.” He spoke softly, gazing into the light blue depths of her eyes.

“No I don’t, what? You don’t want a list?” She stared up at him, a puzzled expression on her face.

“Sorry.” He shook his head a little to clear it. “I meant no you don’t need me to sign off on the purchases.” He smiled.

“It’s not going to be cheap Oliver, they will get suspicious when they hear my little voice which clearly doesn’t belong to a Thomas or an Oliver.” She snorted indelicately and he found it utterly charming.

“You don’t need me to sign off because your name is on the account.” He shrugged, an amused smile still pulling at the edge of his mouth. Her own mouth hung open in shock.

“Since when?” She sputtered.

“Always, your name has been on the account since the day Tommy and I opened the trust, I must have forgotten to mention it.” He shrugged again and Felicity was still baffled.

“Is Laurel on the account?” She asked carefully, her brain trying to make sense of what she was hearing.

“No, it’s just you, Tommy, and me.” Oliver chuckled. “It’s not a big deal Felicity, it doesn’t require any responsibility from you, we just assumed it would be more convenient if ever faced with an issue like this.” Felicity nodded absently and Oliver made his way back to his office, she stared at his back as he left.

Suddenly there was a weight was pressing down on her chest, as she realized just how much trust is shared between her and Oliver. It’s something that was such a huge part of her that she couldn’t even see the gravity of it, her and Sara had never even combined their checking accounts or cell phone bills but here was Oliver granting her full access to the multimillion dollar trust that financed the club without a trace of concern. No strings attached, no ground rules, no caveats, just the faith in her that she would never take advantage of the access. And it was that overwhelming faith that made her swear to herself she never would.

***

The scotch splashed in Felicity’s glass as she laughed. “Stop, stop! I’m going to pee my pants!” She shrieked and Oliver reluctantly removed his fingers from her sides, his smile breathless with his own laughter. She wiped tears from her eyes with the edge of her shirt, a few chuckles still falling from her lips. “I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that.”

“That makes me sad, you should laugh like that every day.” His smile faded to something softer and warmer.

“Well that is a nice sentiment but hardly practical.” She smoothed her top down with her free hand, taking a sip from her glass with the other.

“I hate that you’re like this now.” He huffed. “You were never this jaded when you lived here, and that’s saying something because this is Boston, everyone is jaded here.” He popped the top out of the bottle and refilled her tumbler.

“Well Oliver, things were a lot more simple back then.” She sighed. “And Sara still loved me, what did I have to be jaded about?” He set his glass down and took her hand gently, but she couldn’t hold his eye contact, still uncomfortable talking about her failed marriage.

“I’m so sorry that she hurt you.” His thumb ran over her knuckles softly. “You deserve so much better, you deserve someone who treats you as their whole world.” His words were so sincere that it made her chest ache with the weight of them and she glanced up from where she had been watching their hands.

Oliver’s decade worth of control finally snapped.

He surged forward, his free hand cupping her cheek reverently as he kissed her. She was so shocked she froze for a split second before melting against him, closing her eyes, and opening her mouth on a sigh. He tilted her head gently so he could better plunder her mouth with his tongue. He tasted like expensive whiskey, salted caramel gelato, and _coming home_.

The kiss was soft and languid. He was so careful with her, so gentle in the way his thumb stroked the swell of her cheek, and the way his nose bumped ever so slightly against hers. He started to pull away, slowly sipping at her lips as he did. When her eyes fluttered open his face was a mix of shock and disbelief, as though he hadn’t expected that to happen.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was hoarse with want and it gave Felicity a little thrill that she had affected him that way. “I don’t know what came over me-.”

“Oliver.” She set her glass aside, placing a hand on his shoulder, her face stretched into a smile.

“You are still married, and you’re hurting-.”

“Oliver.” She gripped him more firmly.

“And here comes idiot Oliver to swoop in and take advantage-.”

“Oliver!” She gave him a rough shake and he finally stopped, staring at her with wide eyes. “It’s okay.” Her voice softened, eyes flicking to his lips, still wet with the remnants of their kiss, and her heart skipped at the sight of it.

“It’s not, I shouldn’t have done that.” He scrubbed a hand over his short hair and grabbed his glass, taking a heavy pull of the amber liquid.

“Oliver.” She reached out to stroke his cheek. “That was a lovely kiss, and if you wouldn’t mind taking a break from beating yourself up,” She sighed in amused exasperation. “I’d like another one.” He searched her face rapidly with a cautious gaze.

“Are you sure?” The hope that welled up in his eyes made her heart clench and she smiled broadly.

“I’m sure.” She leaned in to kiss him again but he quickly took over, pulling her waist toward him and leaning into her until her back hit the carpet, settling himself between her thighs. They stayed there for what felt like an eternity just softly exploring each other. She could feel the rigid line of him pressing into her hip but he made no moves to do anything but kiss her and run his hands over every inch of her arms, legs, and waist that he could reach. When he finally pulled back she whined softly at the loss as he ran gentle fingers over her face.

“God you’re beautiful.” He slid his thumb along her lower lip, swollen from the pressure of his kisses and the roughness of his stubble. She lowered her lids and sucked his thumb passed her lips, the edges turning up in a deviant smile. He groaned, his eyes darkening as he stared at her mouth. “That is entirely unfair.” She swirled her tongue around the tip of his thumb and he rocked back to his knees abruptly, pressing the heel of his hand against his very obvious arousal. “I think we should slow down.” He breathed.

She propped herself up on her elbows. “Didn’t we just talk about me being okay with this?” She waved a hand between them.

“Yes, but I’m not okay with it.” Felicity gaped at him, pointing to his erection.

“Um, that says otherwise.” She huffed.

“Felicity, just hear me out please.” He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. “You’ve only been with one person for the last three and a half years and she stomped all over your heart. Whether you want to admit it or not, you aren’t ready to jump into something right now. Sure we could have sex tonight, but what happens tomorrow?” His brows drew together with concern.

“Can’t we deal with that tomorrow?” She sighed, wanting just once to throw caution to the wind.

“No.” He spoke firmly.

“If I was any other girl you’d already have my pants off.” She accused, sitting up fully. There was anger sparking in her eyes, but there was also hurt, and rejection.

“You are not like any other girl.” He snapped, his own anger swelling at the thought of her lumping herself in with his string of one night stands.

“Why the hell not?” She yelled, wrapping her arms around her midsection and drawing her shoulders in.

“Because I have feelings for you Felicity!” He shouted in a rush. “Because I don’t want one night with you! I want more than that.” His voice softened as his eyes bored into her. “I know you’re not in a position to give me more and I understand that.” He took a deep breath to steady himself. “So may we please just drink some more scotch and talk?” His eyes were pleading and she had to shake her head a little to clear it.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” She leaned forward, wrapping a hand around his arm.

“When was I supposed to say something?” He let out a humorless laugh. “When you were happily married? I care about you, I didn’t want to ruin what you had with Sara for my own selfish reasons.” He drained the remains of his glass, setting the tumbler down on the table with a thud.

“How long?” She whispered and he raised his eyebrows in question. “How long have you felt like this Oliver?”

“A hell of a lot longer than I even realized.” He spoke quietly.

“I don’t… I don’t know what to say.” Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs, her mind a swirling mess of feelings.

“You don’t have to say anything, I never meant to put any pressure on you.” He sighed, refilling his glass and taking a shallow sip.

“Well I guess,” She glanced up at him, then back at her own glass, picking it up to still her shaking hands. “I guess before we finish this conversation I have paperwork I need to file.” She stapled her bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m not saying never about the talk, I just-.” She blew out a breath, holding back a sudden rush of emotion. “Maybe not quite yet.” A nervous smile tugged at her lips. “I’m not ready, yet.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He gave her a reassuring smile.

“Okay.” She whispered, her eyes still brimming with tears.

“Or have you forgotten?” He slipped his fingers between hers. “You’re stuck with me.” His smile was light and boyish and it brought a genuine laugh to Felicity’s lips. The tension slowly melted around them and Oliver drew her into a gentle hug, his heart feeling lighter than it had in years, even with the uncertainty that hung in the air.

***

Felicity found herself standing outside the lawyers office in Starling city after she filed the petition for disillusion, her heart in her throat as she stood in the humid summer air, trying to draw in enough breath. She stared vacantly at her naked left ring finger, pain radiating in her chest. This was what she wanted, she had no doubts about that but it still hurt so badly that this part of her life was over, that she had wasted years on a person that wasn’t right for her and it had all ended in a messy and horrible way. Tears wet her cheeks as she leaned against the building and she found her phone in her hand without really thinking about it.

**FS: I know this is what I want, so why am I crying?**

She held her breath after hitting send, not sure how that would be received.

**OQ: Because you loved her and she hurt you in just about the worst way imaginable.**

**OQ: It’s okay to not be okay.**

Felicity snorted a soft laugh in spite of herself, typing quickly in response.

**FS: How did you get to be so wise?**

**OQ: My best friend taught me and she is sooo smart.**

A soft smile was on Felicity’s face when Donna came out to find her. “How you doing babe?” She asked with a warm look.

“Better now.” Felicity sighed, her smile was small but at least it was there.

“Who were you texting?” Donna feigned disinterest, but Felicity saw right through it and rolled her eyes fondly.

“I was texting Oliver.” She shrugged, heading back toward the car so Donna couldn’t see the emotions on her face. But as soon as Felicity turned her back Donna let her face split in a wide grin and just barely held herself back from doing a happy dance.

The Smoak women went back to the apartment Donna shared with Quentin, though he was staying with Sara while Felicity was in town so they had the place to themselves. Donna poured them each a glass of wine and sat Felicity down on the couch.

“You’ve been very quiet since you got here.” Donna offered gently.

“I’ve just, I’ve had a lot on my mind, and I’m ready to get back to Boston tomorrow.” She spoke softly twirling her wine glass back and forth in her fingers.

“I know you are, and I’m glad you have family there to take care of you.” Donna offered a sweet smile and Felicity rested a hand on Donna’s arm.

“You are my family too, and I love you.” The smile that she sent her mother this time was much more real. “I just want to get out of this city for now, it hurts being here and seeing Sara and signing this paperwork. It’s all a lot more overwhelming than I thought it would be.”

“I know baby.” Donna set her glass down so she could wrap her arms around Felicity. “But you are going to get through this and be even better than you were before. And Sara is going to spend the rest of her life kicking herself for the worst mistake she ever made.” Donna’s voice was cold and it gave Felicity a little jolt of happiness seeing Donna go full mama bear on her wife… well, her soon to be ex-wife. “Even if this was never really designed to last long term.” That gave Felicity pause, her arm freezing halfway to her mouth with her wine glass.

“I’m sorry, what?” Felicity asked softly. “What do you mean it wasn’t designed to last.” She set her glass down and turned her full attention to her mother, pulling out of her arms.

“Well you can’t have a successful marriage to someone when you aren’t in love with them Felicity.” Donna gave her a patient, yet knowing look.

“What do you mean?” Felicity shook her head. “There are a thousand things that I love about Sara… Loved about Sara.” Her voice turned sad with the thought. Donna straightened and took both of Felicity’s hands.

“You didn’t love Sara,” She started softly, giving Felicity a warm smile. “Because you’re in love with Oliver.” Felicity’s mouth fell open.

“No… I’m not… I was… I mean, of course I love Oliver, he’s my best friend and sure he’s attractive, so in that regard plenty of people are in love with him, probably all of the people are in love with him. But not me, no, nope, totally not in love with him.” The words all rushed out without so much as a breath and Donna shook her head softly.

“No Felicity,” She squeezed her daughter’s hands. “You were a tough kid, brilliant and resourceful but closed off. When your dad walked out on us you clammed up and tinkered with your computer parts and read your books but you didn’t reach out to people, you didn’t make friends, you didn’t even talk to me.” Felicity opened her mouth to protest but Donna cut her off with a tender look. “And that was okay, because you were healing in your own way. But then I saw you with Oliver that first night I had dinner at the manor, you lit up like Christmas when he walked in the room, I had never seen you like that in all of your thirteen years. I looked at the two of you and within five seconds I knew that you were in love with him. Then later that night I saw you curled up in bed with him and I was sure. Over the next ten years I just kept waiting for the moment that you would tell me you were together.”

“So that’s why you never supported my marriage to Sara,” Felicity looked to her lap. “Not because I was married to a woman.”

“Oh Felicity of course not, how could you ever think that.” Donna pulled her back into a tight hug. “I love you no matter what and if you and Sara were right for each other I would have supported you from the start, but I knew your heart belonged to someone else.”

“I love you.” Felicity sighed, leaning more heavily into her mom.

“I love you too babe.” Donna ran her hand through Felicity’s hair and held her close, soaking up the renewed closeness between them and praying that her words would bring her girl and Oliver closer together, where they belonged.

***

Felicity felt absolutely sick standing just outside the front door, this was the part of her trip she was least looking forward to. She took a deep breath and stepped into Queen manor, her heart instantly aching at the familiar feeling of home when she set foot inside. Moira and Robert were waiting for her in the study and as soon as she walked in and looked at them both she was choking back tears.

“Felicity dear, come sit down.” Moira patted the chair beside herself and Felicity fell into it ungracefully. “Do you need a glass of water? Maybe some breakfast?” Moira offered softly and Felicity just shook her head, pulling herself together with a deep breath.

“No thank you, Moira. I just wanted to come and speak to the both of you in person while I was in town. I don’t need to fill you in on the mess that’s going on in my life but I’m moving to Boston indefinitely.” She paused to keep her emotions at bay, pressing trembling fingers to her mouth. “So I need to.. need to…” Moira took her other hand and a sob broke loose from Felicity’s chest. “I need to tender my resignation.” She choked out, her shoulders shaking with her tears. “I’m so sorry.” Robert extended his handkerchief and Felicity took it gratefully. They allowed her a few moments to dry her face then Robert spoke.

“Felicity, Moira and I have discussed the situation you find yourself in and we both think that Boston is the best place for you to be while you sort this all out.” Felicity nodded sadly, sniffling as she looked down to the handkerchief in her hands. “But you are also family and you are far too important to the company for us to just let you go. Now that we have someone on the staff with your skills it would be insane for us to allow you to walk away.”

“I appreciate you both so much, and I appreciate the opportunity, but I can’t stay here.” Felicity sighed as she dabbed at her eyes.

“Of course not, we understand that, so we are offering you a consulting position that you can do from Boston.” Robert was smiling when her eyes snapped up to him. “As long as it is something that you think you’d be interested in, that is.” He gestured to her with an open hand.

“Are you fracking kidding me?” She spoke, baffled, before she realized that the man sitting across the desk was her boss’ boss’ boss and she slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Is that a yes? I’m afraid I am not up to date on the latest slang.” Moira lifted a brow at Felicity, her eyes glimmering with mirth.

“Yes, absolutely yes!” Felicity pulled Moira into a grateful hug then rushed around the desk to do the same with Robert. “Thank you so much, I don’t know how I could ever repay you for this.” She spoke in shocked wonder.

“Just keep doing an excellent job and keep pushing QC to new technological heights. We are offering you this option because we believe in you and we believe in what you can achieve.” Robert squeezed her upper arm with a warm smile. “Now you should probably have Clay take you to the airfield, you wouldn’t want to miss your flight.”

“I’m the only passenger they are taking, I’m sure they won’t leave without me.” She huffed a soft laugh.

“Of course, but why delay getting yourself back to Boston, I’m sure my son is pacing a hole in his floor waiting for you.” Felicity’s heart stuttered in her chest at the mention of Oliver, this trip had been one mess of an emotional rollercoaster and going back to Boston meant there would probably be even more ups and downs but she still found herself looking forward to the ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first kiss has arrived! I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'm so excited to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Thank you so much as always for continuing to support me on this journey, your comments give me life =]


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of nervous about this one... I hope you guys like it =]

For the next ninety days Felicity and Oliver kept themselves busy and were barely even in the same room at the same time. Felicity had started on her consulting position for QC, putting in long hours during the days and getting to bed early. Oliver had been working every night at the club and sleeping during the day. Their schedules were opposite and the time they did spend together they kept the topics light and tried not to talk about their feelings or what they would do when Felicity’s divorce was finalized.

After the ninety day waiting period ended Felicity had gone to Starling to sign the papers, when she got back, neither her nor Oliver knew what to do with this new part of their lives. As they tried to figure it out they stuck to the same routine and avoided the topic. Oliver was growing sick of the tension and not being able to spend time with Felicity as he was used to. Tommy had a rare night off from school so he and Oliver were sitting in their VIP booth drinking tequila and talking about what was happening with Felicity.

“I don’t know why we’re discussing this… again.” Tommy sighed, taking a sip from his glass. “You just need to talk to Felicity about everything and I have a feeling you’ll be glad you did.”

“I don’t know how to have that talk with her.” Oliver rubbed his palms over his face. “Her divorce was finalized a week ago, she’s still getting over Sara, I don’t want to rush her.” He took a long sip of his drink, his finger and thumb working against each other as his eyes lost their focus.

“Ollie, I love you.” Tommy clapped a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “But this is not about you being concerned for Felicity.” He gave a knowing smile. “This is about you being afraid of what might happen if it goes poorly.” Tommy leaned back and awaited the inevitable response.

“Is it so crazy to be worried about that? I don’t want to lose her Tommy.” Oliver drained his glass, his fourth in the time they had been sitting there, he wasn’t drunk yet but Tommy knew it could easily go that way if they weren’t careful.

“I know you’re scared of losing her but think about it this way, if things go poorly are you going to do everything in your power to keep Felicity in your life?” Tommy topped off his own glass and gave Oliver a single pour to try to discourage him having too much more. Oliver tended to get more agreeable when he drank a bit but there comes a time when a bit becomes too much and Oliver becomes a mess.

“Of course I would.” Oliver scoffed.

“Alright, so why do you think Felicity wouldn’t do the exact same thing for you?” He offered, raising his brows, trying to restrain himself from throttling the other man until he understood that he just needed to talk things through with Felicity.

“Well,” Oliver started but cut himself off with a thoughtful look.

“Don’t think too hard, you’ll hurt yourself.” Tommy laughed and dodged Oliver’s half-hearted punch. “I can’t watch you wait too long and lose Felicity again, the last time was almost too much for you to take.” Tommy sighed and looked directly at Oliver, weighing his options for a moment before diving in. “Here is the big secret about you and Felicity, she is just as in love with you as you are with her. And before you try to argue with me, just for once in your life trust that I know what I’m talking about.” Tommy squeezed Oliver’s shoulder again in support. “Now, before you have the chance to talk yourself out of it I think you should go back home and have this conversation with Felicity. There is no point in waiting any longer.” Tommy’s hand slipped from Oliver’s shoulder and he gave his oldest friend a supportive smile. “Come on, I’ll call you a cab.”

The whole cab ride was reflective for Oliver, he thought back to the moments he’d had with Felicity over the past decade and how those moments have shaped their friendship into what it is now. Images flashed through his mind as he got more and more lost in thought.

The first day of freshman year when Felicity came literally flying into his life with her straight black hair, combat boots, and perpetually pink cheeks.

Watching Felicity with Thea, always patient, always giving her undivided attention, and always showing up for his baby sister.

The road trip they took after high school graduation, where they stopped anytime there was a billboard for some tourist attraction and the cheesier it was the happier Felicity looked. She was glowing with happiness that entire trip and Oliver reveled in it every mile of the way.

Felicity, with her blonde ponytail sticking out the back of a red sox hat, begging Oliver for one more soft pretzel with her big blue eyes. She didn’t need to beg since he was incapable of telling her no, but they would both pretend for a second that he might hold out and that exchange always had them both in stitches.

Felicity crying.

Felicity laughing.

Felicity grumpy in the morning before her coffee.

So many of the happiest moments of Oliver’s life were with Felicity by his side and some of the hardest moments as well, but he was able to get through those moments with her support. They always had each other’s backs and the longer Oliver sat there and thought about it the more irrevocably in love with Felicity he knew he was. The feelings he had for her were a mortal lock and denying them was only stressing him out and he knew Felicity had been feeling that too.

The driver had to call to Oliver a few times to snap him out of his reverie and when he finally did Oliver tossed a few twenties onto the passenger seat and left the car without another word. His steps were slow and soft as he walked up the familiar stairs of the brownstone and opened the door. Loud music was playing in the kitchen and his heart jumped hard in his chest knowing Felicity was awake and just a few feet away. He made his way down the hall deliberately, thinking over a few different things that he might say to her.

Felicity’s laptop sat on the counter playing spotify, and her lush hips swayed to the rhythm in her white lacy boy shorts. Her slim waist was covered in a navy tank top and her hair was in a messy bun that Oliver wanted so badly to pull free. She was eating a bowl of cereal as she danced around and Oliver opened his mouth to quietly announce himself after she tipped the bowl back to polish off her milk.

“Are you in love with me?” The words were far too loud and Felicity yelped in surprise, her spoon clattering to the tile floor as she spun to face Oliver. The shocked look on her face had the words rushing out of him even faster. “Because Tommy told me that you’re as in love with me as I am with you, and I am ridiculously in love with you. So if Tommy is to be trusted then you are ridiculously in love with me too. Which is insane because you’re Felicity Smoak, the smartest woman on the planet, the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, and the one who is going to invent the next huge thing in technology.” She blinked at him owlishly but before she could respond he continued on. “And I’m just Oliver, perpetual playboy, family fuck-up, and professional idiot. I’ve never been good enough for you but somehow it seems I am the luckiest guy on the planet. That is,” He paused and took a steadying breath. “If you are in fact in love with me. So are you?” His voice shook a little as he spoke. “In love with me?” Felicity’s mouth opened and closed a few times as she attempted to formulate words but she was actually speechless for the first time either of them could remember so she just nodded slowly.

Oliver closed the distance between them in a few long strides and lifted Felicity onto the counter, stepping between her legs and capturing her lips in a searing kiss. Her eyes slammed shut as her mouth opened on a moan and she dropped her bowl onto the counter, locking her arms around Oliver’s neck, holding on to him tightly while his tongue slid against the length of hers. For as aggressive as he started Oliver quickly turned the kiss into something slow, deep, and thorough. His mouth moved against hers deliberately and the smooth twists of his tongue were wonderfully filthy in a way that made Felicity’s toes curl. Her hands dove into the short length of his hair, scratching along his scalp, making him groan into her mouth. The sounds he made shot right to her center and had her digging her heels into his ass to pull him closer. When the hard plane of his abs made contact with her core she broke her mouth away from his and tipped her head back on a pant. He quickly turned his attention to the smooth pale column of her throat, placing delicate kisses up and down its length. The throb between Felicity’s legs increased in intensity and she pushed at Oliver’s shoulder softly.

“Bedroom… Now… Please.” She spoke between deep gulping breaths. And when Oliver looked up at her desire punched him square in the chest. Her pupils were blown wide with pleasure, a flush high on both cheeks and her lips were wet and red from their kisses. She looked sexy as absolute hell and Oliver needed so much more of it. He grabbed her by the backs of her thighs and wrapped her legs around his waist, carrying her up the stairs as her musical laughter rang out through the house. He just couldn’t help himself from kissing the laughs from her lips, pausing to press her up against the wall of the stairwell.

It took about ten minutes to climb to the fourth floor with the many detours they took to continue kissing, touching, and gazing at each other like lovesick fools. When they finally made it to the bedroom Oliver tossed Felicity onto the bed with a bounce, her giggle bringing a delighted smile to his face as he climbed onto the bed after her and stalked his way up her body, placing soft kisses to her left knee, right hip, belly button, the swell of her left breast, and her right cheek, before his lips descended on hers once again. As he kissed her soft and sweet his fingers found the hem of her tank top, he pulled back to look into her eyes.

“May I take this off?” His breath was slightly labored and Felicity nodded readily, moving her upper body to help rid herself of the garment. Once her tank was off Oliver stopped and stared at her chest for so long Felicity started to fidget.

“I know there isn’t much there.” She let out a soft nervous laugh, heat blooming in her cheeks, as she moved to cover her small breasts with her arms. Oliver’s hands shot out to stop her, his eyes flying up to hers.

“No, they’re perfect.” The sincerity in his voice had Felicity squirming for an entirely different reason and she bit down on her lip as she returned his intense stare. Oliver leaned in slowly and dropped a series of kisses across her collarbone, dragging his lips and stubble from one kiss to the next. “I want to put my mouth on them.” He murmured and Felicity’s nipples tightened in anticipation.

“Yes, please.” Her voice was hoarse with desire and Oliver quickly complied, taking her right nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it before catching it gently between his teeth, he gave a light tug and was rewarded with a loud moan as Felicity arched toward him, electricity skittering across her skin from her breast to her throbbing sex. Oliver teased the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger, pressing his hips against the bed in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on his aching cock. Felicity writhing beneath his ministrations was driving him wild, her pleasure amplifying his own.

He switched his mouth to the other breast, laving the peak with his tongue then blowing a stream of cool air over it that had Felicity gripping the back of his head tightly. “Oliver!” His name was a desperate cry and it was absolute music to his ears, he sucked the hard bud into his mouth, swirling his tongue, sucking, nibbling, and dragging his sharp stubble across it. He took a break from the tight rosy tips of her breasts and kissed the light dusting of freckles on her shoulders. “I love you.” She breathed and Oliver froze, his eyes darting up to hers.

“Again?” He swallowed thickly. “Please?” His throat was tight with emotion and he held his breath, waiting for her to speak.

“I love you.” She spoke with a smile, cupping his cheek reverently. “I’m in love with you.” A tear rolled down Oliver’s cheek at the words, his heart full to bursting with everything he had felt for this woman in the last decade.

“I love you.” He pressed another kiss to her lips. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” He punctuated each sentence with a kiss and then he licked at her lips, begging entrance that she readily granted, slipping her own tongue into his mouth to tangle with his. The kiss went on until Felicity’s chest was heaving with her breath and Oliver started to slowly make his way down her body, he kissed and licked and bit little patches of skin until his shoulders were wedged between her thighs.

“May I taste you?” His voice was a low rumble against the taught skin of her belly as he let his tongue peek just under the band of her boy shorts.

“Yes.” Felicity nodded frantically, lifting her hips and pushing down her underwear roughly. “God yes.” Oliver took over, sliding the lace down and following it with soft kisses from the top of her left thigh, to the crease of her knee, down to her calf, to the sharp bone of her ankle, and finally the top of her foot. He repeated the same path in reverse up the other leg and by the time he was settled in front of the glistening folds of her sex she was trembling. Her wetness was smeared on the tops of her thighs and Oliver’s mouth watered at the sight, he leaned in and licked a path from her soaked entrance up to her stiff pearl, keeping the pressure steady and consistent. “Oh god.” Felicity sobbed, her heels digging into Oliver’s shoulders as her nails raked a path across his scalp.

He smirked into her folds and started lapping at her slowly, keeping his attention to her opening and the outer folds of her core, only grazing her clit every few strokes. Her hips rocked against his face and he matched the rhythm without speeding up, keeping his touches wandering and unpredictable. He listened intently to every one of her sounds and made a mental note of the little strokes that made her moan louder, or arch harder, or tug on his hair. But he only used those every minute or so as he felt her start to build. His pace stayed steady and his touch stayed firm and deliberate as her breathing came in fast pants and her fingers twisted in the sheets tightly. He reached up with his left hand and laced his fingers through her right, she held onto him desperately and he gently slid one finger of his right hand inside her, concentrating his soft decisive licks on her clit.

“Yes! There! Right there!” She ground herself against his tongue with abandon, her climax just barely out of reach. “Don’t stop, please, please don’t stop.” She panted harshly as she spoke. Oliver crooked his finger inside of her as he sucked her clit between his lips firmly, and then she was coming.

She didn’t see stars.

She saw the fucking milky way.

Her orgasm seemed to go on forever and Oliver kept gently swirling his tongue through her folds as she continued to undulate against his mouth. She finally went still and he pressed one last kiss to her sex before wiping his face on the sheet and crawling up to lie beside her. She was still dazed and pink all over when she flopped onto her side and started scrambling to take Oliver’s shirt off. He nudged her clumsy fingers out of the way and quickly unbuttoned his shirt, he stripped off his pants and socks as well before settling beside her in his boxer briefs. She immediately started kissing him, hitching a leg over his hip.

“Felicity.” He chuckled, pulling his face back. “Slow down a second.” She rubbed her core against the hardness in his shorts and he groaned, feeling the heat of her through the fabric.

“Oh.” She whined, her brow twisting with pain but she kept rolling her hips jerkily.

“Hey, Felicity, stop.” He softly moved his hips away from hers and she looked up at him with concern.

“Don’t you want me to take care of you?” She reached for his length and he pulled back again, grabbing her hands and bringing them to his lips to kiss them softly.

“I would love that, but aren’t you sensitive?” His thumbs rubbed softly against her knuckles.

“Um,” Her brows knitted together. “Yeah… I… I guess I am.” She looked nervous, as though he might be upset by her words. He just drew her in to his arms and kissed her forehead.

“Then I can wait.” He ran his hands through her wild hair and Felicity finally relaxed into his hold with a hum. They stayed cuddled up together, Oliver’s hands drifting lazily up and down Felicity’s body as she relaxed further and further. She was starting to drift to sleep when she felt Oliver tugging a blanket from the end of the bed and draping it over their bodies.

“Wha’?” She mumbled and started to sit up.

“Go back to sleep.” Oliver pressed a soft kiss to her hair as he settled the blanket around them.

“But I thought…” Felicity’s light blue eyes bored into him. “You don’t want to keep going?” She seemed almost rejected and Oliver quickly lifted his palm to her cheek and kissed her soundly.

“Felicity there is nothing I want more than to be inside you right now, but I didn’t want to keep you awake if you’re too tired.” His thumb stroked her cheek softly and she bit down on her lip to steady her nerves.

“I want you inside me.” The combination of her soft whisper of the sultry words and her big innocent eyes had desire whipping through Oliver with white-hot intensity. His lips crashed against hers as he pulled her waist in tight to his body, one of his thighs wedging between hers and pressing against the naked heat of her sex. They kept kissing as Oliver rolled her onto her back and reached blindly for the condoms in his bedside table, but Felicity’s small hand landed on his wrist and stilled his search. “Please don’t.” Her voice was firm but her eyes held a sliver of worry. “I want to feel you. Just you, with nothing between us.” His brain short circuited at the idea of going bare inside Felicity, his already hard cock jerking in his briefs with the thought.

“Are you sure?” He needed her to say yes, he hadn’t had sex without a condom since high school and the thought of sharing that with Felicity had so many emotions filling his chest but he needed her to be on the same page.

“I’m sure.” She nodded without any doubt in her gaze. “I’ve been on birth control since I was thirteen, and I trust you.” She pressed her palm to his cheek as she spoke the last and Oliver turned his head to press a gentle kiss to it, then he leaned forward to kiss her lips, and cheeks, and eyelids, and neck in a series of quick pecks that had her giggling once again. He rubbed his stubble against her neck to hear more of that delightful sound until she was pushing against him for mercy and he rolled himself away from her to tug off his boxer briefs. When he got back on top he brought his lips to hers again for a long soft kiss then lined himself up at her entrance.

“You with me?” Oliver looked into her eyes and smiled when she nodded firmly. He started pressing himself inside her and his eyes rolled back under his closed lids. She was so tight it felt like heaven as her cushioned walls clung to him. He wanted nothing more than to slam himself as deep as he could and pound into her with abandon, but she let out a pained hiss and he felt her body go rigid so he held himself still as he looked at her. “You okay?” His right hand drifted over her cheek gently.

“I’m fine, it’s just been a while.” Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink and Oliver just had to kiss them.

“I’ll be gentle.” He smiled down at her and started to slowly pull himself out but she reached down and grabbed two handfuls of his ass to keep him close.

“I can handle it, please don’t stop.” Her face was pressed against his throat, her voice tight and frantic.

“I’m not stopping I promise.” He kissed her hairline. “Hey, look at me.” She slowly responded dropping her head to the mattress, looking up to where he hovered over her. “I just want to go nice and slow so this doesn’t hurt you, you’re so goddamned tight if I keep going forward it’s going to be uncomfortable.” He reached down to tug her thigh higher up over his hip as he started to press in again.

“Is it, um, is it too tight?” Felicity whispered, her cheeks reddening further. Oliver let out a soft chuckle and dropped a kiss to her temple.

“I don’t think there is such a thing as too tight.” He huffed, his lips drifting to her ear. “You feel fucking incredible.” His voice was a soft growl and he could feel Felicity’s walls clenching in response as a moan bled from her lips.

Oliver kept gently rocking himself in and out, reaching down to softly rub Felicity’s clit when she got tense, until he was fully seated inside her. He pulled almost all the way out and slid back in slowly, watching her face carefully for any signs of discomfort but she just dropped her mouth open in pleasure as his cock dragged in and out of her silken heat. He kept his pace very slow, reaching down to tilt her pelvis up so each thrust had the head of his cock rubbing her g-spot as his pubic bone grazed her clit. Felicity was crying out at the end of every thrust, a pink flush rushing over her skin and the combination of her sounds, the sight of her, and the feeling of warm, wet perfection blanketing his length had Oliver gritting his teeth against the orgasm he could feel just under the surface of his skin. He breathed slowly and evenly, trying to hold off his climax but quickly losing the battle.

“Felicity, honey, I need you to come for me.” Oliver pleaded, his thumb finding her clit and rubbing side to side. Her volume redoubled and she nodded frantically.

“Yes, your thumb, just like that.” She groaned and threw her head back, the taught peaks of her nipples rubbing against Oliver’s chest. “Just, a little… oh god… a little harder? Please, a little bit harder?” Her voice was a desperate sob and Oliver slammed himself inside her hard enough to rattle her teeth. “Yes! Yes! Oh my god Oliver! Right there!” Her nails sunk into his shoulders and he could feel the tension building in her body as his hips started to lose their rhythm. He sped up his thumb and it was her undoing, her mouth dropped open on a silent scream as her walls clamped down on him.

“Oh fuck, Felicity!” He was able to give two more erratic thrusts before he was following her over the edge, his muscles convulsing as he buried his face in her neck. Her small hands rubbed his back and shoulders as he caught his breath, and her soft lips left gentle kisses against his sweaty forehead. He finally pulled his head off her shoulder to kiss her with sated, lazy lips. “I love you so much.” He sighed against her.

“I love you.” Her smile was tired but deliriously happy. Oliver gave one more thrust where he was still buried inside her and she gasped, gripping him tightly. “Too much.” She laughed softly and he nodded in agreement.

“I can’t help it, I just don’t ever want this to end.” He slid his nose alongside hers before kissing her softly and letting his softened cock slip from her core. “Stay right there.” He smiled at her then walked across the room as Felicity stared blatantly at the toned muscles of his back and his tight perfect ass. He ducked into the bathroom for a moment and came back with a damp washcloth, when Felicity reached for it he batted her hand aside gently and settled between her legs. Her cheeks heated as he carefully cleaned her tender flesh, making sure nothing was left behind before he rinsed out the cloth and left it beside the sink to dry.

He tugged the covers down and helped Felicity get settled into her side of the bed before he slotted himself up against her back and tangled their legs together. He pressed gentle kisses to the nape of her neck and her shoulders, his hands stroking lightly over her warm naked skin.

“I love you.” Felicity whispered into the darkness, a wide smile on her face.

“And I love you.” Oliver mumbled, craning his neck forward so she would meet him in one more soft kiss, their lips were uncoordinated but it was warm and soft and lovely. Oliver drifted to sleep easily with the soft beating of Felicity’s heart directly against his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... That happened.
> 
> I hope you're glad it did.
> 
> I wanted this chapter to just be in the moment and I hope it reads that way, there are things to work out between these two but we have time for that next week and beyond. 
> 
> Thank you guys as always =]


	5. Chapter 5

As Felicity slowly drifted toward wakefulness the first thing she was hit with was how utterly warm and comfortable she was, every inch of her was blanketed in heat and a soft hum resonated through her chest as she patted her lips together softly, still so sleepy despite it being late morning judging by the level of sunlight. She shifted a little, to find the perfect position to slip back into her fantastic dream when a soft twinge between her legs made her freeze. The light puffs of breath against the back of her neck had her waking up more, her body stiff as her brain started coming online. All she could feel was skin, her skin and Oliver’s skin, pressed together from head to foot. Her stiffness caused Oliver to shift a little in his sleep, and she was then so painfully aware of the rock hard length of his morning wood wedged in the cleft of her ass. Her eyes flew open and her heart started pounding so hard she was sure it would crack through her ribcage any moment now.

_Holy fracking shit! _She pressed a hand to her lips, making sure that her thoughts stayed on the inside of her head. _I had sex with Oliver fracking Queen last night. _She took a long breath to steady herself, her eyes slipping shut. She didn’t know what any of this meant, he confessed to being in love with her but he didn’t ask her for any kind of commitment. The last real relationship he was in had been with Susan and Felicity was not at all interested in that level of casual with Oliver. But maybe she could learn to live with it? Last night had been hands down the best sex of her life and feeling so close and connected to Oliver had her heart squeezing tightly in her chest with the supernova of feelings she had reveled in the night before. Then her thighs squeezed tightly together when she thought of the two mind-blowing orgasms she had reveled in as well. Her nipples tightened and her core clenched with want when she replayed everything that happened.

Then Oliver stirred behind her.

She froze stiff again as he nuzzled his nose into the nape of her neck, letting out a deep groan and pressing his hips against her lush ass. She could feel his cock twitching and rolling her hips back against him was practically involuntary. Feeling his hardness pressed up against her made the clenching in her walls redouble and she let out a needy whine before she could stop herself.

“Good morning.” His voice was so gravelly she felt it more than heard it and a shudder ran through her body with the vibration.

“Um,” She squeaked, clearing her throat before attempting more words. “Good morning.” Her voice was shy and she squeezed her eyes closed against the awkwardness she could feel radiating from herself.

“How did you sleep?” His voice was so warm and caring, it had Felicity relaxing a little without having to think about it. He kept gently pressing his hips against hers, and soft kisses fell to her hair and shoulders as he did.

“I slept like a rock.” She giggled softly. “I actually thought…” She bit down on her lip, heat blooming in her cheeks. “Never mind.”

“What did you think?” The continued rumble of his voice through her chest made her close her eyes against the desire and love tangled together inside her.

“It’s stupid.” She whispered. He stopped moving against her and her eyes flew open.

“Are you still Felicity Smoak?” She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Yes?”

“Then it’s not stupid.” The kiss he pressed behind her ear made her duck her head bashfully.

“I just thought that maybe,” She took a deep breath. “Maybe last night was a dream.” Her hands closed onto his forearms to ground herself and he tightened his arms around her.

“Well we can’t have that.” His voice took on a stern note and she quirked her head in confusion. “I guess I’ll need to remind you that it was real.” He growled and pulled his hips back enough for the head of his cock to find her throbbing sex. “Holy fuck Felicity.” His arms tightened further and he buried his face in her neck, nipping at her skin with another deep growl.

“What?” She felt nerves race down her spine that she was doing something wrong.

“You’re so fucking wet.” When he rolled his hips she could feel his cock slipping through her folds with no friction. “So fucking hot.” He moved again and his tip bumped against her bundle of nerves punching a moan from her chest and making her wriggle her hips in a bid for more friction.

“Oh god.” She rasped, as one of her hands flew back to hold on to his hip and she gulped in air, overwhelmed with the sensation. Oliver lined himself up at her entrance and kissed the freckles on her shoulders gently.

“This okay?” He held himself steady and she nodded fervently, keening as he slipped inside her. It was a much easier slide than the night before and in one smooth stroke Oliver was buried in her cushioned walls, one hand grasping her breast and the other resting on her mound, pressing her back into him. He set up a maddeningly slow pace, knowing that if he pounded into her the way his body demanded he would be spilling himself inside her in a few strokes.

Felicity was moaning softly with her head thrown back, she didn’t think the slow pace would get her anywhere near her climax but she was enjoying the easy slide of him against her walls and the way his cock skimmed her g-spot from this angle. He kept kissing the skin that he could reach, murmuring against her every now and again. She couldn’t make out the words over the rush of her pulse in her ears and her own panting breath but she could feel the emotion of them, the need, the desire, the fear, the vulnerability. So she nodded along with the words he spoke, her hands squeezing his arm and hip to ground herself. She felt like she might float away if she didn’t hold on.

When her fingers tightened and her moans ticked up to something more anxious Oliver took a nipple between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand, rolling and pinching it softly as his right thumb parted her folds to strum lightly at her stiff little pearl. Suddenly even at the slow pace Oliver kept with his cock Felicity was hurtling toward her orgasm, her breath coming in sharp gasps and her feet scrambled against the bed as she attempted to open her legs wider. Oliver abandoned her nipple to reach under her left leg and lift it, spreading her open and allowing him to reach even deeper inside her. A hoarse cry broke from her and she nodded frantically. “Yes! Yes! Please!” Her nails were digging into him so hard there would surely be marks and he leaned in to nibble her neck when he could feel her growing stiff as she reached her peak.

She came on a scream, her legs being held open made everything feel so much more intense as her walls clutched Oliver rhythmically and her warmth blanketed his cock. He groaned harshly and rolled onto his back pulling Felicity on top of him with one hand under each knee. With their change in position he could plant his feet on the bed and drive up into her with much greater force.

“Ah!” She whipped her head onto his shoulder and arched her back, little sparks danced all over her skin with each powerful thrust and she couldn’t stop the harsh shouts being forced from her chest with the motion.

“Are you okay?” Oliver panted. She could feel his whole body trembling as he attempted to hold back, making sure he wasn’t hurting her.

“Yes! Don’t stop!” She tried to move her hips and thrust herself down onto him but she had no leverage. “Oliver, please!” He slammed into her and she shouted again, her eyes rolling back as the tingles raced all over her. He pulled her hips up slightly using the strength of his arms and started ramming into that soft spongy spot deep inside her that had noises she had never heard falling from her own lips.

“Oh fuck, Felicity, I’m gonna-.” His hips snapped off the bed so hard her body was jolting with the impact. “I need you to come again. Can you please come for me? I need to feel you.” She nodded hard, unable to form the words, and reached for her own clit. It only took two passes of her fingers before she was clenching down on him again, her back bowed up at an impossible angle and her mouth hanging open on a silent scream.

Oliver tumbled right after her at the first flutter of her walls. Growling into her neck as his abs tightened painfully, his cock throbbing as it filled her. His hands squeezed her legs so tightly they would surely bruise but he couldn’t relent while he shuddered through his climax.

They lay there panting for several minutes in silence, just trying to catch their breath enough to move. Eventually Oliver slipped from inside her and she whined at the loss. He carefully let down her legs and shifted them so that she was lying beside him with her head on his chest.

Now that the endorphins were starting to dissipate Felicity’s anxiety was returning. The sex was certainly life changing but it didn’t define anything, she started to fidget, and she could feel their combined releases dripping out of her. “I’m going to hop in the shower.” She said softly, wiggling out of bed with her legs pressed tightly together.

Once she stepped into the bathroom she leaned against the closed door to breathe for a moment but had to move when she felt more dripping. She quickly emptied her bladder then hopped in a hot shower and stood under the spray as she attempted to organize her thoughts. A few minutes later the bathroom door swung open and she gasped, spinning to look at Oliver through the glass shower door.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” His sweet smile soothed her racing heart. “Do you mind if I join you?” She swallowed thickly before opening the door a crack in invitation. She felt a flush racing across her cheeks, neck, and down her back as she turned herself away from Oliver and into the spray of the shower. She curled her shoulders in around herself feeling oddly self-conscious in the harsh bathroom light. His hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped. “Are you okay?” He took her into his arms and she sighed at the familiar feeling of him wrapped around her even in this unfamiliar environment. They had never been naked in the shower together but she had been held in these arms countless times over the past decade, and she took comfort in the familiar.

“I’m fine.” She squeezed his arm lightly where it was wrapped around her shoulders and he nuzzled his nose into her wet hair. They stayed there for some time, just holding each other until Oliver’s hands started to wander. He trailed his fingertips lightly over her body, starting with her arms then her waist, he moved on to softly running over the threads of her neck before he slid his fingers over her nipples. She gasped, amazed that she could even be this turned on again as her sex gave a twinge of interest. Oliver’s lips started trailing over her skin as he plucked at her nipples making them harden to stiff little buds that he trailed his fingers over again and again. His teeth found her industrial piercing, tugging slightly, and her knees almost gave out but one strong arm banded around her waist to hold her up. She sagged into him as the feeling took over, his hand finally drifted to her sex and she was so worked up she jerked a little at the contact. “Shh.” He whispered and gentled his fingers, swirling them through her wetness before sliding two inside her, she felt the stretch and arched into him with a whimper.

“Oh my god, how are you so good at this.” She babbled as his fingers set up a rhythm pumping in and out of her, he simply chuckled and sucked on her ear gently. It didn’t take long for Felicity’s third climax of the day to ripple through her. She was completely limp in Oliver arms as he pulled his soaking fingers out of her and gripped her hip tightly.

“I love watching you come undone.” He growled into her ear and a shiver ran through her body. “You’re so unbelievably gorgeous like this, the flush in your skin, the way my name sounds when you moan it.” His fingers tightened further and he kissed her hard on the neck before reaching out for her shampoo and starting to wash her hair.

Oliver got them both cleaned up and then they went downstairs where he made French toast while she sat at the kitchen bar and traced the patterns in the countertop over and over again. Eating breakfast with Oliver was familiar, being in this house was familiar but the tidal wave of emotions inside of Felicity were brand new and she didn’t know how to cope with them.

As they ate their toast Felicity’s brain to mouth filter finally snapped under the pressure. “What is this?” She blurted then looked to Oliver with wide eyes.

“French toast?” He drew the words out but clearly knew what she meant since he gave her a wink then set his fork down and turned his body to face her, taking both of her hands in his. “We can go as fast or as slow as you’d like but I want to be with you.” He stared directly into her eyes so she could see that he meant every word. “And I am sick of not saying that.” He gave her a soft smile. “I have loved you almost half my life, and I’m done being without you.” Felicity blinked at him for a moment, nodding slowly.

“So I’m your… girlfriend?” She whispered, stapling her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Girlfriend works, I’d prefer something more permanent but I suppose that can wait.” He gave her another wink and tangled their feet together where they swung from the barstools. “I love you.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers in a sweet kiss and she finally felt like she could really enjoy it as she kissed him back with a smile curving her lips.

“I love you.” She spoke as she pulled back, scratching her fingers through his beard scruff and giving him one more lingering kiss.

***

“Are you ready for this?” Oliver asked seriously, holding her hand on the couch.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She nodded, squeezing his fingers like a lifeline. He reached forward but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Wait!” His head snapped around to her. “Just… Can we?... Let’s call your parents first.” She stapled her lower lip with her teeth. “Please?” Oliver smiled softly and flipped through his contacts until he reached his mother’s number. “Wait!” Felicity reached out to him again. “What if they’re upset?” Her big blue eyes were pools of concern and Oliver leaned forward to press a kiss first to her forehead, then to her lips.

“Felicity my parents adore you, they probably love you more than they love me. I promise you they are going to be thrilled.” He pressed one more kiss to her lips then hit call on his phone, putting it on speaker and setting it down on the coffee table.

“Hello Oliver.” Moira’s voice came through the phone and Felicity tightened her grip on his hand.

“Hey mom, is dad nearby?” He soothed his thumb over her hand back and forth, trying to comfort her as much as he could.

“I believe he is in the sitting room, do you need to speak to him?” She asked, seemingly confused.

“I was hoping to speak to both of you actually, can you put me on speaker and take the phone to dad?” Felicity chewed her lip and Oliver reached forward to free it from her teeth.

“Of course dear.” There was the sound of heels on the hard floor as Moira made her way into the sitting room. “Robert? Do you have a moment? Oliver wants to speak with us.”

“Sure, come sit.” Robert’s voice joined Moira’s on the phone.

“Okay Oliver, what is it you wanted to tell us?” Oliver’s eyes flicked to Felicity and she nodded.

“I have Felicity here with me.” He said carefully, trying to find the right words.

“Are you both okay? This seems very serious Oliver.” Moira’s voice seemed a little tight and Felicity couldn’t stop herself from trying to soothe the older woman.

“We’re fine, great even.” Felicity spoke as she stared at Oliver. “We just wanted to let you know that Oliver and I are seeing each other.” She looked so nervous Oliver dropped her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulders instead.

“You’re dating?” Robert asked carefully. “Each other?”

“Robert!” They could hear the sound of a slap from the other side of the phone. “Don’t tease them.”

“I’m not! I think with these two it’s important to clarify.” Robert huffed a laugh.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence dad.” Oliver rolled his eyes. “Yes Felicity and I are dating each other, she’s my girlfriend.” Oliver gave her another quick kiss, his face lit up with a smile.

“We are so happy for you two.” Moira sighed, sounding incredibly pleased.

“It’s about time.” Robert huffed again and they heard Moira slap him once more.

“I think that’s our cue.” Oliver smiled, shaking his head fondly. “We still need to call Thea and Donna before we leave for the night.”

“Well we love you both very much and we hope to see you here soon.” Moira offered, the smile evident in her voice.

“Love you guys.” Oliver spoke.

“Love you too.” Felicity said, and they signed off.

“That wasn’t so bad, right?” Oliver offered gently and Felicity dove for him kissing him with a smile on her lips and locking her arms tightly around his neck.

“I love you.” She breathed when she pulled back.

“I love you.” Oliver sighed, running his nose alongside hers. “Let’s finish up so we can get to Verdant. Should we call Thea?” Felicity shook her head no and reached for her own phone.

“Thea will prefer a text, I’ve got it.” She smiled to Oliver and quickly typed out a message.

**FS: Oliver and I are together... You know, together together.**

**TQ: So…**

**TQ: Does that mean we’re like sisters now?**

**FS: Oh Thea… We were already sisters =]**

**TQ: Tell Ollie he’s an idiot, I love you!**

**FS: Love you too!**

“Well that was easy.” Felicity looked to Oliver. “And Thea says you’re an idiot.”

“Why? What did I do?” He squawked indignantly.

“I think it’s just you, unfortunately.” She wrinkled her nose at him and he pulled her close, tickling her sides roughly. “Oliver!” She shrieked with laughter and shoved at him weakly, her laughter making it impossible to push him away. Eventually he relented and returned to his phone.

“Alright, one more call and then we can go talk to Tommy and Laurel.” Felicity nodded with a smile and Oliver pulled up Donna’s contact, placing the phone down on speaker again and taking Felicity into his arms.

“Hey handsome.” Donna’s voice was bright and cheerful as always and it warmed Oliver to hear it.

“Hey Donna, Felicity and I wanted to talk to you about something.” He pressed a gentle kiss to Felicity’s hair, feeling the tension in her body against his own.

“Hey mom.” Felicity spoke, her hand finding Oliver’s to hold.

“What’s going on babies?” Oliver turned to look at Felicity, offering her the chance to speak.

“Oliver and I… are dating.” She said carefully. “Each other.” Nothing happened for a moment and Felicity started to fidget nervously. “Mom?” The scream that came through the phone sounded high enough to break glass and Oliver cringed against the sound.

“Oh my god!” Donna screamed, her voice tight with tears. “Oh thank god! I’m so happy!” She sobbed, her voice a strange combination of tears, and happy shrieks until suddenly the line went utterly quiet. “Felicity Megan Smoak, if you dare get married without me again I will whip your behind, do you hear me?”

“Jesus mom, we started dating last night, maybe give us a minute before you scare Oliver away with marriage talk.” Felicity buried her face in her hands.

“Oh come on Felicity, that boy has been in love with you since you were thirteen, and he knows me as well as his own mother. There is no way I’ll be able to scare him off, even if I wanted to.” Donna’s voice was light with laughter.

“She’s right you know.” Oliver spoke softly. “I’m not going anywhere.” She smiled up at Oliver and a long happy sigh came through the phone.

“Oh I just love you both so much!” Donna laughed again.

“Love you mama.” Felicity smiled at the phone.

“Love you Donna.” Oliver smiled as well, but he only had eyes for Felicity.

***

Felicity picked at the hem of her dress in the car over and over, her fingers unable to stay still. Oliver’s hand left the shifter to settle on top of hers, she shot him a nervous smile then went back to staring at her lap.

“What are you worried about?” He spoke softly.

“Nothing.” She responded, far too quickly.

“Felicity,” He gave her a look that told her he saw right through her. “Tell me what you’re worried about.”

“What if this doesn’t work?” She let out in a rush of frantic breath. “What if everyone thinks I’m not good enough for you? What if your image is tarnished and the club goes under because of it.” Oliver barked a laugh and Felicity looked at him in disbelief. “I’m serious Oliver!”

“I know you are, that’s why it’s so funny.” He chuckled and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back softly. “You’re adorable.” He dodged her halfhearted slap and kissed her hand once more. “Okay, as far as this not working, there is a small possibility of that but I know I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that it does, because of how much I love you.” He pressed her hand to his cheek and shot her a quick smile.

“I love you.” She spoke with a shy smile. Even as stressed as she was those words made a spike of happiness jump in her chest.

“People might talk, but no one that matters is ever going to think that you’re not good enough for me. You really should be more concerned that people are going to think I’m not good enough for you.” He raised his brows at her.

“That’s ridiculous, you’re Oliver Queen.” She scoffed and took her hand back, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And you’re Felicity Smoak, so don’t you dare try to tell me that I have more worth than you do because I know you Felicity. You’re the most remarkable person I’ve ever met and I won’t have you saying anything to the contrary.” His hand landed on her thigh and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “And as far as the club is concerned, we are doing just fine. I don’t think my image will suffer at all with you by my side, and if it does I will gladly walk away from Verdant if it means I get to keep you.” She stared up at him with wide disbelieving eyes and he just smiled back. “Now, if you hadn’t noticed, we have arrived and we’re starting to draw a crowd.” Her head quickly spun to look out the window, Oliver had pulled to the front of the club rather than his usual spot at the back door. “Are you feeling better?” He leaned in close to her to murmur in her ear. “Or do you need me to distract you?” His hand slid under her dress, fingertips brushing against her through her underwear.

“Oliver!” She looked back to him with wide eyes completely torn on whether she should press herself into him or push him away.

“There’s my girl, you ready?” He smiled as she slapped his arm and he exited the car to lights flashing and reporters calling his name. He buttoned his suit jacket before rounding the hood and handing his keys to the valet. He opened Felicity’s door and ducked down slightly. “Watch your eyes, keep your smile neutral, and let me do the talking, okay?” She nodded and grabbed his outstretched hand, allowing him to help her to her feet. The flashes and voices increased tenfold as Felicity slipped under Oliver’s arm. But she just kept a careful smile on her face, did her best not to blink, and let Oliver lead her toward the door. When they got past the bouncer and the press of bodies was trapped behind the green velvet rope Oliver turned to Felicity and smiled. “May I kiss you?” His eyes sparkled with joy and Felicity felt herself getting sucked into their depths.

“Yes.” She whispered and his lips descended on hers. It was a gentle kiss, carefully chaste so the photos would be flattering. But Felicity still felt the shock of kissing Oliver run through her entire body and she clutched the lapel of his suit for balance. He pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers just breathing the same air and holding her firmly against his body.

“Do you two have a statement about your relationship?” Oliver’s head snapped up when he heard the voice, turning to look right at Susan Williams. His hand tightened on Felicity’s hip and he nodded to Susan.

“This is brand new.” Oliver tried to reassure Susan and the rest of the press that there was no adulterous behavior from him or Felicity. “It took us a long time to get here, but we are exactly where we’re meant to be now.” Susan gave a curt nod and lowered her recorder.

“Thank you Mr. Queen, Ms. Smoak.” Susan’s smile was brittle and Oliver felt a pang of sympathy but when he looked back at Felicity everything fell away and he couldn’t stop the dazzling smile that stretched across his face. He led her inside and they hurried directly up to VIP to keep the crowds at bay.

Tommy found them within a few minutes and pulled them both into tight hugs as soon as he reached them. “Oh thank god, you have no idea how relieved I am that you two are done being completely obtuse.” Tommy huffed an exhausted breath. “Don’t get me wrong, I love you both more than life itself, but you have been absolute idiots about this.” Tommy placed a hand on each of their shoulders and they all shared a laugh.

“Alright, alright, enough.” Felicity giggled. “Speaking of couples, where is your girlfriend? Is she coming by tonight.” Tommy’s smile fell and he looked down to his shoes.

“She can’t make it, she’s really busy with school.” The way his hand rubbed at the back of his neck had Felicity furrowing her brows in concern.

“Things still rough between you two?” Oliver asked carefully. “Do you want me to talk to her?”

“Or me?” Felicity offered, tucking herself back under Oliver’s arm.

“No, we’ll be fine.” Tommy waved them off with a sad smile. “You two just focus on you, maybe get a jump on wedding planning.” He winked, always going for the laugh, especially when people turn their concern his way. Felicity let out a nervous giggle, her cheeks heating and Oliver gave Tommy a soft shove.

“Hey,” Felicity tugged on Oliver’s jacket, he looked down at her smiling. “You want to get me a drink, boyfriend?” She smiled broadly.

“It would be my pleasure, girlfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Your comments honestly make my life and I'm so grateful to all of you =]


	6. Chapter 6

“Are you nervous?” The sound of Oliver’s soft voice directly in her ear made Felicity jump like she had been poked with a cattle prod.

“What? No, of course not! Why would you ask that?” She spoke in a rush, all of her words running together. Oliver raised his brows as if that was all the answer he needed.

“No reason really, but you’ve been reading the same page for the last ten minutes and that’s not like you.” He smoothed a hand over her hair, tucking an errant strand behind her ear. “What’s on your mind hon?” Despite the nerves racing through her mind, her heart still skipped when he called her hon. It had only been two and a half months since her and Oliver started dating but Felicity couldn’t remember ever being happier than she had been in the last months. She cupped his cheek and tugged him close for a kiss before taking a deep breath and relaxing slightly.

“I haven’t been back to Starling since my divorce was finalized.” She whispered. “I’m just nervous about running into Sara.” Oliver tugged her closer and she went easily into the safety of his arms.

“You know that I’m here for you right? However you want to play this, if you want to see her, if you don’t want to see her, if you want to take Clay everywhere you go as your personal protection I’ll make it happen.” Felicity just snuggled deeper into his hold.

“I just want to have a nice holiday with you and our family.” She sighed, tucking her face into Oliver’s throat and planting a light kiss there.

“Okay, then that’s what we’ll do, and whatever you need you tell me, alright?” He kissed her hair a few times.

“Alright.” When Felicity sighed and relaxed slightly she looked over to Laurel and Tommy where they were speaking to each other in hushed tones, both looking rather angry but as much as Felicity’s heart ached for her friends she left them alone, hoping they would figure it out together in time.

***

“Lissy!” Thea grabbed Felicity by the arm the moment she had stepped into the house and started towing her toward the stairs. “I got a rack of dresses in for Christmas and New Year’s in both our sizes, we need to have a fashion show right now to decide what we’ll wear.” The younger girl spoke so fast Felicity could barely keep up, Oliver snagged Thea before she could quite hit the stairs and planted a kiss on her hair.

“Missed you too Speedy.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll see you later.” Thea waved him off and headed for the stairs again. Oliver barely had the time to press his lips to Felicity’s in a hasty kiss before she was dragged out of his sight by his sister. He stared up where they had gone for a long moment until he heard the sound of a deliberate throat clearing. He spun and saw his mother smirking at him, a fond mirth dancing in her eyes.

“May I borrow you for a moment dear?” She reached a hand out to Oliver and he went easily, giving his mother a warm hug and pressing a kiss to her cheek. She just smiled softly and led him down the hall to his father’s study. When she closed and locked the door Oliver’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Mom?” She waved off his concern and crossed the room to a portrait of him and Thea when they were much younger, she slid the painting aside on a hidden track to reveal the safe. She punched in the code and reached into the safe, blocking Oliver’s view. When she spun she had a black velvet lined tray full of engagement rings and Oliver’s heart pounded in his chest at the sight. He managed to loosen the vice around his lungs enough to sputter at her. “What are you doing?”

“Oh Oliver, don’t be coy.” Moira scoffed, setting the tray of rings on the edge of his father’s desk. “And don’t make a mistake by waiting too long, any of these are yours, or I can have more brought home from the bank for you to look through.” Moira motioned toward the rings and Oliver took a tentative step forward.

“I don’t want to scare her mom, it hasn’t even been six months since she got divorced.” He ran both palms over his short hair, his eyes drifting from his mother to the rings.

“No one is saying you have to get married right away, just take a serious look at the rings please? For me?” She tilted her head and looked up at Oliver with a smile. His eyes flicked back to the tray and honed in on the perfect ring, none of the others even came close. It was a delicate rose gold band with a small oval cut emerald in the center and two tiny pear cut diamonds beside it. It was probably the least expensive ring on the tray but it was also the one that would suit Felicity better than all the others.

“That’s the one.” He pointed to the simple emerald ring. “But please hold on to it until I ask you for it, I don’t want to take it back to Boston with me and have her find it. We’re not there yet.” Oliver took a deep breath and glanced to his mother who was beaming.

“Of course my beautiful boy, I’ll have this transferred into your name and you just let me know when you’ll need it.” Moira squeezed his upper arm before returning the tray to the safe and writing herself a note. Oliver couldn’t decide if the feeling in his chest was excitement or fear but a small smile played at the edge of his lips, whatever it was.

***

“Hey kiddo.” Quentin approached Felicity offering a glass of champagne, his smile tentative but warm.

“Hi Quentin.” She accepted the glass from him and took a shallow sip, still a little unsure how to act with her former father-in-law. They stood there side by side for a moment, thick tension in the air until he spoke.

“Look Felicity, I know we haven’t had a lot of time to talk recently but I wanted you to know how sorry I am.” He seemed mildly uncomfortable and Felicity’s brows drew together with confusion.

“What for?” Felicity rocked on her heels, too nervous to stay still.

“I know I kept my distance when you and Sara split and I should have let you know that I was here for you, if you needed.” His voice was gruff and he wouldn’t hold her eye contact. “What Sara did is… Well it’s unforgivable, and I understand why you decided to walk away.” He nodded stiffly to himself. “I know you’re back in Boston now, but I couldn’t help but notice that you haven’t come by the apartment to see your mom this trip. I was worried that might be because of me.” He wrung his hands together before stuffing them into his pockets. “It’s alright if you don’t want to see me, so if you just call ahead I can make myself scarce, but I can’t have your mom missing out on time with you because of me.”

“Oh no, it’s not that at all.” Felicity rushed to correct him. “We’ve just been busy on this trip so it’s easy to catch up with mom while we’re on the go.” The tips of Quentin’s ears were pink and Felicity’s chest tightened. “Thank you.” She breathed. “That actually means a lot to me, I wasn’t sure where you stood, I just assumed since Sara was your daughter…” She trailed off.

“Stop right there Smoak.” Quentin laid a firm hand on her upper arm. “You’re my daughter too.” This time he kept his eyes fixed to hers and Felicity felt her own getting suspiciously wet.

“I really appreciate that.” Felicity gave him a watery smile. “Please excuse me, I’m just going to find the ladies room.” She slipped away, a little overwhelmed by the love and acceptance of a father that had no reason to go out of his way to make her feel wanted. Felicity let herself wander to a quieter part of the house to catch her breath.

It had been a very long time since Felicity walked the halls of Merlyn Manor, she had only been there a few times in high school. She was reminiscing about her first time getting drunk on captain and coke ten years ago to the day as she gazed at a few paintings outside the library. She had only been thirteen and could so clearly remember Oliver and Tommy, so boyish and excited that night, she also remembered Oliver kissing Laurel and Sara giving her a lingering kiss on the cheek and a hug when the ball dropped. Felicity wiped a stray tear at the mixed emotions rolling through her, saddened by the end of her marriage, nostalgic about this place and the few memories she has of it, and joyously happy that she is dating the best guy in the world.

“Felicity?” As though she had conjured him with her thoughts Oliver appeared at the end of the hallway. It was the same hallway him and Tommy had found her in ten years previous and her heart swelled with the memory as well as with the incredibly attractive man striding toward her with purpose.

“Hey stranger.” Felicity tilted her chin up and accepted a soft kiss from him. “Where have you been?”

“Talking to Laurel.” Oliver sighed, looking pained at the thought.

“Are her and Tommy still having issues?” She gave a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, but that wasn’t all of it.” He scrubbed a hand through his beard stubble. “She’s pretty upset that Sara left town without so much as a goodbye, this is the first time Laurel has been in Starling since last Christmas and Sara didn’t stick around long enough to see her.”

“I had no idea.” Felicity breathed.

“That was by design, Laurel doesn’t want to upset you by making it seem that she wants to see Sara more than she wants to see you. She doesn’t know how to talk to you about it.” Oliver shrugged and tangled their fingers together.

“Sara is her sister, I can understand that Laurel wants to see her, especially when Laurel hasn’t seen her in a year. I really need to talk to her.” Felicity started marching toward the rest of the party but Oliver tugged her back into him gently.

“Now’s not the time, she’s upset, but she’s handling it, you two have plenty of time to talk it over but for now.” He trailed off, giving her a wide smile. “For now it’s almost midnight and I intend to spend the first moments of 2011 kissing my girlfriend.” The curl of his lip was so mischievous it made Felicity giggle lightly.

“You know that charm of yours is nothing but trouble.” She smiled and started walking back toward the party.

“I think you like my trouble.” His voice rumbled in her ear and her eyes fluttered shut.

“Oh I love your trouble.” She shot him a smile as they stepped into the sitting room. Felicity crossed to the buffet to gather a champagne glass for Oliver before slipping under his arm. They watched the ball drop surrounded by family and before Felicity could offer her glass to Oliver in a toast he cupped her face and caught her lips with his in a searing kiss that set her heart racing. She barely had a chance to fumble her glass down on the table beside them before she was swept away by the kiss. Her entire being was surrounded by Oliver, his arms around her waist, his lips devouring hers, the soft woodsy scent of him in her nose, it was so easy to lose herself in him that it took several throat clearings before they finally broke apart panting. She looked up and gazed into his dark blue eyes, so besotted and full of love as he stared back at her.

“Oliver, sweetness, can I please hug my baby before you parade her off to a bedroom and lock her away the rest of the night?” Donna’s amused voice drew both of them out of their bubble.

“Mom!” Felicity’s cheeks pinked and her mouth hung open in shock.

“Oh we were all thinking it.” Donna waved, unbothered and pulled Felicity into a hug. “Happy new year babe.” She squeezed Felicity tight and planted a floral scented pink kiss on her cheek.

“Happy new year mom.” Felicity closed her eyes and took a long breath, not able to remember the last time she started a year so happy. When Donna pulled back she turned to Oliver.

“Get over here handsome.” She tugged him close and squeezed him tightly clearly whispering something in his ear that made a broad smile stretch across his face as Felicity looked on with happy curiosity. Oliver nodded a little and squeezed Donna tightly before pulling back and taking Felicity’s hand.

They moved on to Oliver’s parents next, and while Oliver hugged his mother Felicity looked around the room for Tommy, surprised he hadn’t scooped her up in a typical Tommy bear hug yet.

***

“Just what do you think you’re doing in here?” Tommy snapped and Martina spun from where she was stirring a pot on the stove.

“Ay dios mio Tomás, you scared me.” She pressed a hand to her chest with a smile.

“I’m serious mamá, you don’t work here anymore.” Tommy smiled and wrapped Martina in a hug.

“I just wanted a little Ibarra, would you like some?” She pressed a kiss to his cheek that smelled and felt like home and he nodded, rounding the counter and sitting in the same spot where he used to watch her cook dinner for him as she stirred the chocolate.

“I ran into Mr. Oliver earlier, he seems so happy.” She spoke with a smile.

“He is.” Tommy smiled back at her. “I’m so glad him and Felicity finally figured everything out, they deserve to be happy.” She poured hot chocolate into two mugs and placed one in front of Tommy, the spicy smell drifted up and wrapped him in nostalgia as he took a deep breath.

“And what about you?” Martina sat beside him with a curious look.

“What about me?” Tommy took a careful sip, glancing at her over the rim of his mug.

“Do you deserve to be happy?” She gave him a knowing look as he felt the tips of his ears go red.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He shrugged and looked down into his mug.

“Come now Tomás, as if I can’t read it all over your face, tell me what’s wrong.” She laid a hand on Tommy’s back and he dropped his forehead to the counter with a groan.

“I should be happy, I should have nothing to complain about.” He sighed.

“But?” Martina’s voice was warm with understanding and Tommy leaned in to her, not realizing how much he had missed her while being in Boston.

“But, Laurel and I are struggling.” He groaned. “Med school and law school do not go well together. I love her but making time for her and trying to be a good boyfriend on top of school is exhausting.” He rolled his forehead along the counter, soothed by the familiar cool stone.

“So why do you continue this relationship if it’s so hard on you mi amor?” She rubbed circles into his back as she had since he was a boy.

“Because I still love her and I want this to work. God, I’m so tired.” His voice was muffled by the counter as he slumped further.

“Is it her you love or is it the idea of her?” When Tommy rolled his head to find her eyes Martina wore her all-knowing look and it made his stomach flip with nerves, in his experience Martina was rarely wrong about these things, hell, in his experience she was rarely wrong about anything.

“I just need to get some sleep during this break and try to be better when we get back to Boston.” Tommy scrubbed his hands over his face as he sat up, nodding to himself. Martina considered him for a long moment before deciding to stay quiet and nudging his mug toward him.

“Drink your chocolate mi amor.” He complied easily, resting his head on Martina’s familiar shoulder after a few sips.

***

“What did my mother say to you?” Felicity asked softly as they made their way up to the Oliver’s old bedroom in the Merlyn manor, their hands comfortably laced together. A soft smile lit Oliver’s face and he turned it to Felicity.

“Thank you for loving my girl the way she deserves, I’m so glad she has you.” Oliver couldn’t help but preen, Donna Smoak is one of the most important people in the world to him and her opinion of him and his relationship with Felicity matters a hell of a lot.

“Well, my mother has been half in love with you since you turned the full force of the Queen charm on her ten years ago.” Felicity barked a laugh. “No wonder she’s glad we’re together.” The light flush on Felicity’s cheeks told Oliver she was more pleased with her mother’s words than she let on, but he didn’t push, he just held the door to the bedroom open so Felicity could walk inside.

“I haven’t been in this room in ten years.” Felicity mused quietly as she trailed her fingers across the footboard of the bed, her light champagne buzz making her a little nostalgic.

“Not exactly a fond memory.” Oliver rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. Thinking of Felicity’s first time getting drunk, and the subsequent puking and first hangover that went along with it.

“Sure it was.” She turned a soft smile on him. “You stayed up and took care of me that night, I didn’t realize people actually did that.” She crossed the room to trail her hands up his arms and wrap them around his neck.

“I’ll always take care of you.” He smoothed his palms around her waist until she was pressed up against him, safe in his arms. “I love you.” He smiled down at her and she lifted herself onto her toes to press her lips to his firmly.

“I love you.” She gave him another sweet kiss before she sunk to her knees, her fingers immediately slipping into Oliver’s belt.

“Oh god.” Oliver groaned, his hands finding her soft hair. “Felicity, honey, you don’t have to.” He spoke the words sincerely but his body was clearly interested in her current position, the rigid line of his cock straining against the zipper of his slacks.

“I know I don’t have to Oliver.” She lowered his zipper and mouthed at him through his boxer briefs, reveling in the shiver that traveled down his body when she scraped him lightly with her teeth through the fabric. “I want to.” She tugged both his pants and boxers down just enough, smiling as his hardness sprang free, flushed pink, and dripping with his need for her. “Let me take care of you.” Her voice was throaty as she took him in her hand, pumping with loose fingers just to drive him a little mad.

Oliver was an incredibly generous partner, he always made sure that Felicity came, and came, and came, before he did. He was so focused on her, so single minded, that his own pleasure didn’t even seem important to him. She appreciated the skill and dedication that he showered her with almost every night but she also loved to watch him come apart, to watch the threads in his neck stand out as he reached his peak, to see him arch and shudder and groan his way through a climax that Felicity pulled from his body with just the touch of her hands and mouth. Oliver struggled to let go, to lose control, to be a little selfish and take pleasure even when it’s given enthusiastically. Felicity tried her best to be just as generous to Oliver as he always was to her.

She kept gazing up at him, her eyes huge pools of light blue desire as she ran her tongue from the base to the tip and swirled it around, gathering the drop of arousal before sliding forward and taking him into her mouth. His fingers tightened sharply in her hair and little tingles raced across her skin; her own wetness increasing as the endorphins rushed through her. She took her time bobbing up and down slowly, making sure to take in as much of him as she could without gagging before hollowing her cheeks and increasing her suction as she slid back up. Every now and again she would pull off his cock with a harsh wet pop that never failed to make his knees wobble for a moment.

The thick muscles of his thighs contracted as he got closer and his fingers tightened ever further in her hair, Felicity stilled her movements and slackened her jaw, giving him permission to thrust himself in and out of her mouth. The head of his cock met the back of her throat over and over as he looked down at her with utter disbelief; like he was amazed that she would be willing to give him pleasure like this, even though she treated it as a privilege. He started to lose his rhythm, his length growing even harder in Felicity’s mouth causing her to moan around him as she kept looking into his eyes.

“Oh my god Felicity, that feels so fucking amazing.” He groaned and she hummed in approval as his thrusts grew shorter and sharper. “I, I’m gonna… No.” He pulled out of her mouth so quickly an obscene slurp filled the air and Felicity fell back against the bed laughing, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand as Oliver covered his face and chuckled.

“Well that was sexy.” Her sarcasm slipped out between laughs and Oliver reached down to lift her under her arms and deposit her on the bed, covering her body with his own.

“You my love,” He smiled widely and kissed a trail from her mouth to her ear. “Are always sexy.” He nibbled her lobe gently then moved his attention to her neck.

“So why did you stop me? I thought I was killing it tonight.” Felicity’s voice grew breathless as his sinful mouth trailed paths all over her neck and shoulders.

“Because when I come I want to be inside you.” His voice was gravelly and it made her hands clutch at his shoulders, tugging at his shirt until he helped her get it off. They unceremoniously stripped out of the rest of their clothes and within a few moments of getting naked Oliver slid into her welcoming heat. He clutched one of her thighs and thrust into her so slow and deep that it brought tears to her eyes. They held each other close, their climaxes inevitable but far less important than rocking together, sharing their breath, touching their foreheads, and whispering to each other in the quiet room.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” Felicity sighed over and over as he filled her. Her ribcage felt too small for her heart as she stared into the darkened pools of Oliver’s eyes. She kissed him hard just to stop herself from flying apart, wanting this moment to last as long as possible.

“I love you.” He breathed as they pulled apart, his mouth falling to the space just below her ear. “I love you.” The rush of his hot breath against her sensitive skin made her walls clench firmly around him and they both groaned at the sensation.

When Oliver finally pulled an orgasm from deep within her, he followed close behind, keeping his face tucked into her neck and telling her over and over how lucky he was to have her, how happy she made him, how amazing she was. They stayed there for as long as possible, Oliver holding her tightly in the cage of his arms and Felicity stroking the hair at the back of his neck. Once they’d parted they cleaned up together in the shower before returning to bed, exhausted, and satisfied.

“Happy new year Felicity.” Oliver mumbled into the back of her neck as he spooned her warm naked body against his.

“Happy new year Oliver.” They fell asleep tightly tangled together, starting 2011 in the best way either of them could imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys as always for reading, please let me know what you thought =]


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see more notes for trigger warnings

A high pitched scream hit Oliver’s ears and he dropped the pants he was stepping into, sprinting down two floors to Felicity’s office in a blind panic. His heart thundered in his chest at the thought of her in pain, or if someone had managed to get into the house and had found her. He moved even faster, blowing through the door of her office and to her side in a moment.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” His hands shook where he held her, so much adrenaline filled blood pumping around his body he felt as though he may shake apart.

“You’re father asked me to represent QC at the National Technical Conference in Central City.” Her face was split in a wide grin and she hopped up and down with glee. Oliver deflated instantly, bending to brace his hands on his knees, his breath leaving him in a whoosh.

“Oh my god.” He pressed a hand to his still pounding heart, straightening up. “I think I’m going to throw up. I’m so glad you’re excited, please don’t scream like that again.”

“Oops.” She gave a sheepish little grin. “I’m sorry, I just got so excited.” She barely suppressed a squeal, vibrating in place.

“It’s okay, I think my heart has returned to its original location.” Oliver sighed and dropped his hand from his chest. “When is this conference?”

“Mid-march, so a little over a month.” She was still buzzing with excitement and Oliver couldn’t help but smile at the sight of it.

“Let me talk to Tommy about covering the club and maybe I’ll be able to go with you.” Oliver could only imagine how much his girl would light up being surrounded by all of the most cutting edge tech in the country and he would hate to miss the chance of seeing her so happy and in her element.

“Really? You’d go all the way across the country to a boring tech conference with me?” Her smile got even wider as she wrapped her arms around his waist, her small fingers running over his bare back. Oliver bent down to press a soft kiss to her lips.

“I’d go anywhere with you.” His voice rumbled through his chest and he kissed her again, sliding his tongue along her bottom lip, begging entrance. Felicity opened her mouth on a sigh, swept up entirely in kissing Oliver until she pulled back with a startled gasp.

“Oh frack!” She looked back to her desk. “Your dad is still on hold.” Her eyes were wide behind her slightly skewed glasses and Oliver huffed a chuckle.

“Well there goes the mood.” He smiled as he spoke so Felicity knew he was kidding. “We can continue this later,” He planted one more firm kiss on her lips before straightening her glasses. “I’ll call Tommy to set up a meeting.” Felicity sat back at her desk and immediately dove back into work mode, the sight of it keeping Oliver’s smile firmly in place.

***

“Have I ever told you how much I love owning a bar?” Tommy’s booming voice had Oliver turning from where he was checking inventory behind said bar. Tommy just breezed past Oliver and grabbed a bottle of bourbon, flipping a glass up onto the mahogany and filling it with a little flair before pounding the drink and filling it once more. “You want one?” Tommy extended the bottle to Oliver who politely declined.

“I don’t want to smell like booze when I interview DJs in an hour.” Oliver took a peek at his watch as Tommy slammed another whiskey. “You doing okay?”

“Oh yeah I’m peachy, I watched a guy nearly bleed to death at the hospital today while I was being yelled at for the wrong course of treatment.” Tommy scrubbed his hands over his weary face. “And two staff members thought their time was better spent berating me for my choices as I watched this guy’s face turn from pink to white and arterial blood pour from his hand like a faucet.”

“Wait, what happened?” Oliver placed a hand on Tommy’s arm to keep him from draining another drink. Tommy set down his tumbler and planted both his hands on the bar, he sighed heavily as he hung his head between his shoulders.

“The charge nurse let us know that there was a gunshot wound to the hand coming via ambulance, so a handful of us started prepping a bed for the patient. Just setting up IV tubing, having blood on standby, tourniquets, plenty of gauze, a suture kit, stuff like that.” Tommy dropped to his elbows and placed his head in his hands. “The patient arrives and the EMT’s hand-off to the charge nurse, give her a report of the injuries and what they treated with and we get to work. I ask the guy how he’s doing, he’s obviously in some pain but he was alert and answering me. He had been cleaning his gun and accidently shot himself in the hand, right in the middle of his palm. The nurse gets the gauze from the EMT’s off and I can see that he’s bleeding pretty bad, but I’m occluding the radial and ulnar arteries just in case.”

“Occluding?” Oliver asked and when Tommy looked at Oliver his brows were drawn together in confusion.

“I was squeezing his forearm to staunch the blood flow.” Tommy circled a hand around his lower arm to demonstrate, Oliver nodded for him to continue. “The nurse tells me to let it go to see what we were dealing with and blood literally sprays across the room. I immediately grabbed on again and the blood slowed down so I threw a tourniquet around the arm and got the bleeding pretty well under control. At this point a trauma surgical consult had been requested so the charge nurse and I were just waiting on the surgeon.

“Then this other fucking nurse comes over, riding his high horse about how the tourniquet I just applied thirty seconds ago is going to cause ischemia and risk for amputation, right in front of the patient, by the way.” Tommy paused when Oliver’s confused brow’s returned. “Right, ischemia is a lack of blood flow to a body part which can cause cell death and increased risk of infection. Which is valid, but the recommended length of use for a tourniquet is around two hours, anything before that is pretty damned safe. So this nurse that’s in charge of this part of the ER, determines that my course of treatment is harmful to the patient, he then loosens my tourniquet and beside it he places an IV band! A fucking IV band! Which is not creating nearly enough pressure to stop the blood flow out of this poor guy’s hand.

“Now the second nurse wraps a metric fuck-ton of gauze and ace bandages around the hand and calls it good. But I asked him to hang around and not sixty seconds later there is blood pouring through. And now the trauma surgeon shows up and I’m thinking ‘thank god, there is a grown-up here to fix this.’” He took a ragged breath and picked up the whiskey bottle. “I thought wrong.” Tommy refilled his glass and took a sip this time, at least he’d moved on from pounding doubles. “The trauma surgeon reads the patient’s chart as Mr. IV band over here lets the surgeon know the bleeding is ‘under-control,’ but we can all clearly see the blood dripping out of the bandages, he asks about the loosened tourniquet but Mr. IV band puffs out his chest and tells the trauma surgeon that he was at high risk for amputation and therefore the tourniquet was too dangerous. So the trauma guy decides to take all that shit off, the wound is still bleeding but not as bad, and when I look up at the patient he’s white as a sheet and I can tell he’s not bleeding much because he doesn’t have much left to bleed. I thought the trauma surgeon would jump into action but instead he says it’s fine and tells the nurses to give him a bag of blood.

“The nurses rewrap the hand, even though it’s still bleeding like hell and now I’m just hanging out with this patient and the asshole nurse with his fucking IV band, since my sweet charge nurse Joanna got called away. So thankfully because this is a hand, and the mechanisms in them are so complicated there was a plastic surgery consult as well as trauma and it only took about five minutes for the plastics guy to show up. And my patient is now pale, hypothermic, shaking, and lethargic.

“So we go through the same song and dance of reading the chart and unwrapping this hand _again_. But thankfully the plastic surgeon actually looks at this guy in the face and sees his decreased level of consciousness and realizes that something needs to be done. He looks at the loose tourniquet and asks the nurse ‘why didn’t you tighten this down to stop the bleeding?’ And Mr. IV band just stands there gaping like a fish, stammering about ischemia and the plastic surgeon asks how long the tourniquet was on. To which I reply thirty seconds, the surgeon asks if I was the one to make the call on the tourniquet and I confirmed so he asked me to retighten it and assist while he stitched up the arteries.

“We got that done, wrapped the hand once the bleeding was under control then put the guy on IV fluids and blood overnight while he waits for surgery in the morning.” Tommy polished off his third drink and turned a sad look on Oliver.

“Well that sounds like it turned out okay.” Oliver gripped Tommy’s shoulder gently.

“Can you imagine being that guy? Almost bleeding out because of a preventable mistake?” He shook his head ruefully with a humorless laugh. “Then you get saved by the boob guy, the fucking boob guy!”

“Why does this seem like it’s about more than this patient of yours?” Oliver offered kindly.

“Oh I don’t know Ollie, maybe because I come home from a terrible day of hospital rotations in the hopes of a hug and kiss from my girlfriend, maybe a short talk about why my day sucked, but I walk in the loft and Laurel bites my head off about the shower floor being wet and cold when she got up for class. I didn’t realize I needed to mop the shower floor before my shift of saving people’s lives.” Tommy dropped his head to the bar. “And I probably shouldn’t have screamed back about her horrendous attempts at cooking and all the dishes those attempts create which had been sitting in the sink for days on end. But I feel like everything is falling apart and maybe.” He cut himself off to swallow. “Maybe I should move back to Starling.”

“What?” Oliver felt panic clamping down on his chest, the thought of Tommy moving across the country was impossible to even comprehend. “What about med school?” Oliver was grasping at straws, trying to keep his exterior calm and collected.

“I don’t know man, it’s not like I need to work, I can just lean on my trust fund.” Tommy grimaced at the thought.

“That’s Malcolm’s money Tommy, you don’t want anything to do with that.” Oliver wrapped an arm around his buddy and gave a supportive squeeze.

“I’ll figure it out.” Tommy shook himself and forced a smile. “What did you want to meet about?”

“Actually.” Oliver stood in thoughtful silence for a moment. “I have an idea.” He smiled at Tommy. “I wanted to meet because Felicity has a tech conference next month in Central City and I was hoping between you and the staff I could take off for a few days so she wouldn’t have to travel alone.”

“Okay, I’m sure we could figure something out, but what’s your idea?” Tommy put his whiskey bottle away and leaned one elbow on the bar.

“Well, we’ve had some success here.” Oliver motioned to the club as a whole. “What if we opened a second location? I can set up meetings while I’m in Central City, it’s lower on crime and higher in young socialites than Starling and it’s only a short train ride from home. Maybe you could spend some time there over your next break from school, it’s honestly a good excuse to spend more time at home for both of us. I can handle all the heavy lifting but it keeps your options open if you really decide you want out of here.” Oliver gave a weak smile and Tommy’s brows drew together.

“You would do all that for me?” The confusion on his face was laced with a little glimmer of hope.

“We’re brothers, if we don’t have each other’s backs who will?” Oliver pulled Tommy into a hug, patting his shoulder roughly a couple times before pulling back. “So why don’t you write yourself into the schedule next month and I’ll fill it in with the rest of the staff for the nights you’re not around. I’ll start making calls and we’ll get to work on Verdant West.” Oliver smiled but Tommy wrinkled his nose.

“No, we’ll get to work on Verdant II.” He offered and Oliver nodded in agreement, offering his hand for Tommy to shake.

***

Felicity was so overwhelmed with happiness she thought she might vibrate right out of her skin. There was tech everywhere, from phones, to cars, to bio-tech, to artificial intelligence. It was the greatest place she could imagine and she gave herself a hard pinch to make sure it was all real.

“Ow!” She rubbed the spot she just pinched and glanced around quickly to make sure no one saw that before she stepped out onto the floor of the tech conference and headed to the first booth she saw.

There were a wide range of tablets in front of her, some more classic in their applications and some had laser keyboards and built in scanners that she readily tested as the rep from the company told her all about the different specs. She scribbled down things she found interesting in her notebook so she could write up a report for Robert that proved she was responsible enough for this trip. Even though she just wanted to run around the room squealing.

She pulled her phone out of her purse on her way to the next booth, smiling to herself as she typed out a text.

**FS: This is the greatest place on earth… Or maybe it’s heaven**

**OQ: Did you sneak off to Disney Land when I left this morning?**

**FS: Ha Disney Land has nothing on this place**

**FS: How are your meetings going?**

**OQ: Fine so far, we’re mostly just looking at locations, but I’m starting to think we’ll need to build something from scratch.**

**OQ: I have a lot of ideas on how to make this club even better than the first, I’ll tell you all about it tonight.**

**FS: I can’t wait to hear about it.**

**FS: I love you**

**OQ: I love you**

Felicity was still smiling down at her phone when the person behind the next booth cleared their throat to get her attention. She looked up with a blush and quickly stashed her phone so she could listen to them talk about the driverless cars of the future.

A few hours later Felicity had listened to some panels and walked most of the floor, but she had saved her favorite bits of tech for last, then she would meet up with Oliver and have dinner before heading back to their hotel room so she could do this all again the next day.

“Is that a satellite frequency communicator TX50?” She looked over the arm of the man standing in front of her.

“It’s actually a TX40, have you seen the TX50 here?” He spun to face her, looking down with a smile. He was very tall, and incredibly handsome, with Disney prince like features, dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes.

“Not here no, I managed to get my hands on one during a demonstration at work though, it was pure bliss. What sort of application would you use it for?” Felicity pushed her glasses back up her nose a little. The stranger checked the immediate area quickly with his eyes and lowered his voice.

“I’m trying to breach a tor-secured firewall and I need something to help me piggyback off a keyhole hexagon satellite.” His smile stayed bright but Felicity knew what sort of skill that kind of hack would take and she reevaluated prince charming, not nearly as executive forced into a tech conference as she might have once thought.

“I did that once.” She smiled brightly, then leaned in and lowered her voice as well. “Hacked a public Wi-Fi signal piggybacked using crowdsourced stealth processing.”

“Huh.” He looked thoughtful for a moment then glanced at her nametag. “You’re Felicity Smoak, of Queen Consolidated.” Recognition filled his expression.

“You know who I am?” She quirked her head.

“I actually would love to hire someone with your expertise, if you’d be willing to relocate to the east coast that is. His smile was all charm and Felicity was truly flattered.

“I guess it’s not public knowledge but I actually live in Boston, I work remotely for QC.” She smiled, then the blood drained from her face. “Not that I’m looking for other employment! I’m here as the sole representative for QC and I take that responsibility very seriously. I love my job. My job is amazing. Everyone should be reminded that I love my job and I wouldn’t want to be employed anywhere else.” Her cheeks were flushed by the time she spewed all of that out but the stranger in front of her didn’t seem scared at all, his smile actually seemed even kinder.

“Fair enough, but it never hurts to ask, your skill is legend in the tech circles.” He seemed contemplative for a moment then shook his head. “Anyway, I guess I should buy this” He held up the communicator but Felicity plucked it out of his hands and put it back on the shelf.

“You don’t want to do that.” She offered seriously.

“I think I really do.” He reached for the communicator but she slapped his hand out of the way, he looked utterly shocked.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I just did that.” She blanched. “I just meant, if you want to breach tor-level security, you should really deploy a remote administration tool. I have a good one.” Felicity reached into her bag and pulled out her notepad and pen, quickly scribbling on a clean sheet before tearing it out. “Here is the URL.” She smiled at him again as he took the offered paper.

“Thanks.” He read the address in his hands with a surprised little smirk.

“Happy hacking.” Felicity smirked back, expecting their exchange to end.

“Actually, would you mind walking me through some of your strategies? Maybe over dinner?” He hadn’t seemed like he was flirting with her and Felicity was almost positive she hadn’t been flirting either but it seems that there were some signals that got crossed.

“I have a boyfriend!” She blurted far too loudly then clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Me too.” Ray offered, then paused before clapping his own hand over his mouth. “I mean a girlfriend, I have a girlfriend, I’m totally straight.” He waved his hands in front of himself. “Not that there is anything wrong with being gay! I just personally prefer women.” He paused again. “But I’m not clarifying because I’m coming on to you, I actually would like your help with my hack.” He winced, assuming she would turn and flee but Felicity just laughed.

“Oh thank god, you’re like me.” Her smile was beautiful and her laugh soft and musical. “I’ll just let my boyfriend know we’ll have one more for dinner and you can meet us at Osteria Dei Mascalzoni at eight, do you know it? It’s an Italian restaurant downtown. Everyone likes Italian right?”

“Italian sounds perfect, I look forward to speaking more over dinner with you Felicity.” He offered his hand but she frowned at it.

“You’re not wearing a nametag.” She trailed off. “What should I call you?”

“I’m Ray, Ray Palmer.” His smile was dazzling and Felicity nearly tripped standing still.

“Ray Palmer, of Palmer Technologies?” She took his hand and shook it absently. “And you want me to help you?” Her voice was awestruck and it made Ray chuckle.

“I’m really more of a hardware guy, I can do software but if I can get help from an expert why not take advantage of the opportunity?” They dropped their hands and Ray bid her a quick farewell as he stepped on to the next booth and Felicity stood in disbelief for a moment. This was bound to be an interesting dinner.

***

Felicity came back to the hotel glowing with happiness and it lit Oliver up to see her that way, she gushed about her day, about all the tech she got to play with and the ways that the industry was changing. Oliver only understood every few words but he was happy to just bask in her light, and let her ramble to her hearts content.

“So the craziest part of my day is striking up a conversation with someone that I thought was just a fellow hacker but turns out he’s the CEO of Palmer Technologies and he asked for my advice with a problem that he’s currently working on.” She was so excited that Oliver stopped where he was tying his light blue tie and turned to give her his full attention.

“That’s amazing, I’m glad people are recognizing you for your skills.” Oliver returned to his tie and missed the way Felicity’s face twisted with worry.

“So I know tonight was supposed to be a romantic dinner just the two of us, but Ray asked if we could talk over dinner and I sort of told him that you wouldn’t mind if he joined us.” When he turned slowly to her she had on her best puppy eyes. “Are you mad? You’re probably mad. When he gets to the restaurant I’ll just tell him to leave, I’m sure he won’t hate me.” Oliver felt himself deflate at her dejection.

“No Felicity, it’ll be fine for him to join us for dinner.” He gave her a smile and shrugged into his jacket. “Now turn around so I can zip you up, we don’t want to be late.”

At the restaurant Felicity was bouncing with excitement and glancing toward the door every few minutes while they waited for Ray. Oliver just laid a hand on her thigh in an attempt to ground her, trying to keep her engaged in conversation but she was nervous, he could tell.

“Oh there he is.” She smiled with a mix of relief and nerves and Oliver dragged his gaze away from her to the door where a portly balding man was walking in and suddenly Oliver felt a little lighter. But that man turned in the opposite direction and revealed a tall, broad, attractive, young man that couldn’t be much older than Oliver himself and that light feeling instantly dissipated. He turned back to Felicity who was smiling brightly and gesturing him over. “Ray, this is Oliver Queen, Oliver, this is Ray Palmer.”

“Nice to meet you Oliver.” Ray turned his sizzling smile to Oliver and the men shook hands.

“Nice to meet you as well.” Oliver felt entirely too much of a thrill when Ray winced slightly at Oliver’s firm grip.

Everyone ordered drinks and Oliver nursed his scotch as he watched Felicity and Ray volley words back and forth like a tennis match. There was nothing for him to contribute to this conversation and he sunk deeper into his chair as he watched Felicity lit up and so totally engaged by the topic. Oliver wasn’t sure if he had ever seen her so enthralled and it made his heart ache that he didn’t do that for her. Her and Palmer were lost in their own world, both stumbling over their words and finishing each other’s sentences as the night wore on and Oliver’s mood turned darker and darker.

Ray laughed at some tech joke Felicity made and his hand landed on her exposed upper arm, squeezing slightly and Oliver’s teeth ground together harshly. He would be damned if Ray Palmer was going to sweep in with his luscious hair and his fancy tech company and steal the best thing in Oliver’s life.

Dinner dragged on excruciatingly long until finally the check came and Oliver snatched it before Ray could offer, paying the tab and giving Felicity a hopeful look.

“I hate to cut this short.” Felicity glanced between the two men. “But I have an early morning and it’s getting late. Ray can we talk more tomorrow at the conference?”

“I’m actually flying out tomorrow morning.” Ray gave a sad smile. “But we can meet up when you get back to the east coast, maybe I can tempt you away from the Queen’s.” Both Ray and Felicity laughed as they stood and hugged briefly. Oliver felt his nails bite into his palms as he waited for them to exchange numbers then he steered Felicity out of the restaurant with a tight smile.

He said almost nothing on the walk back to their hotel room, Felicity was talking but he could barely hear her. He marched right to their door and unlocked it, holding it open for Felicity then following behind her.

“Oliver are you…? Oh!” She started but he cut her off by slamming her back against the wall and slotting his mouth over hers roughly. She scrambled for purchase, gripping his suit jacket tightly as he devoured her lips. The kiss was harsh and demanding and Felicity let herself be carried away in its passion. Oliver growled as he hiked her red dress up her thighs and over her full hips, exposing the black lace thong she’d put on earlier that night. He grabbed it and twisted sharply, wrenching the fabric free from her body and she gasped, her head thumping back against the wall as Oliver attacked her neck with his lips and sharp beard stubble. Felicity moaned and pressed her breasts more firmly against Oliver as she just tried to hold on for the ride.

His hands quickly undid his own belt and pants, only pushing them down far enough to free his rigid cock before he lifted Felicity off her feet and up against the wall. She barely had time to think before he was pressing inside her, the stretch of her walls radiating through her body and causing a sharp shout to fall from her lips. Oliver didn’t even pause for a breath, he just pressed his palms behind both of her knees and shoved her legs up against her chest, slamming into her as far as he could go. At this angle he was able to reach so deeply inside of her while also skimming her clit with his pubic bone at the end of every thrust that it drove Felicity wild. She was shouting and thrashing her head from side to side as she attempted to move her hips and meet his thrusts.

Oliver reached his neck forward and gave her a rough kiss, his stubble biting into her lips and cheeks sharply as he pounded into her with abandon. Every muscle in her body grew tight as her climax built inside her and Oliver picked his pace up even more to get her there. With a few more deep thrusts Felicity was screaming her release, nails digging tightly into Oliver’s now incredibly wrinkled suit jacket and he slammed into her one more time with a growl of “Mine,” on his lips as he came inside her, the warm throbbing of his cock causing her to shiver and hold him even tighter.

They were both panting for breath, leaning heavily against the wall for a few moments before Oliver let her down and sent her into the bathroom. Felicity’s knees were a little wobbly but she managed to get herself cleaned up and when she walked back out into the room Oliver switched with her and she heard the shower start. She got changed and slipped into bed, waiting for Oliver to turn out the lights. He came out into the room a few minutes later and stepped into a pair of boxer briefs before climbing into bed beside her and wrapping her in his arms.

“You know…” She started carefully. “I’ve never wanted anyone else but you.” Oliver went very still as he waited for her to finish her thought. “But, jealous Oliver is always welcome here.” She huffed a laugh. “That was amazing.” Oliver felt his cheeks warm and he buried his face in Felicity’s neck.

“I don’t really know what came over me, I’m sorry if I was too rough.” He winced, realizing now he hadn’t been nearly as careful as he usually was with her.

“Remember when I said it was amazing?” She laughed louder. “Don’t get me wrong, all the sex we’ve had has been incredible, but that was something else.” He squeezed her tightly, pressing sweet kisses to her shoulders and neck.

“I’ll remember that.” He smirked against her skin.

“Please do.”

***

“I’m so sorry!” A rushed voice huffed as Felicity’s notebook and coffee went flying out of her hand and she teetered dangerously on her heels. “I’m late, so I was rushing, and I wasn’t looking where I was going.” A lanky young man gathered up Felicity’s things and handed them to her, his green eyes painfully sincere. “I’m Barry Allen.” He thrust a hand out to her and she could hardly keep up with how fast he seemed to move and talk. She managed to fumble her hand into his and shake it.

“Felicity Smoak.” She smiled, accepting her notebook and pen from the stranger, giving her spilled coffee a dejected sigh, it had been a long day and she was looking forward to drinking it while she walked to the hotel.

“I’m really sorry about your coffee.” Barry grimaced. “Can I buy you another? I’m on my way to a coffee shop nearby to meet with a friend and I’d be happy to replace the one I spilled.” Felicity bit her lip, not exactly willing to go to an unknown location with a stranger.

“I know you have no reason to trust me.” He easily picked up on her train of thought and she blushed. “I work for the police department if that makes you feel any better.” He dug a badge out of his pocket and showed her that he was a member of the crime lab staff.

“Oh good, crime lab, so you know exactly how to kill me and dispose of my body without getting caught.” Barry’s eyes flew wide and she threw her hands up. “That was just a stupid joke. Sometimes my brain to mouth filter doesn’t work, and it’s even worse when I’m tired and under-caffeinated.” She covered her eyes with one hand. “I could really use that coffee you mentioned. Let me just call my boyfriend to meet us there, he’s expecting me, what’s the name of the coffee shop?” Felicity tugged her phone out of her bag.

“CC Jitters.” Barry responded with a small smile.

***

When Oliver pushed open the door to the coffee shop he immediately heard his girl’s beautiful laughter ringing through the air. As he approached her he looked around the table in confusion.

“Oh Oliver!” Felicity called when she noticed him. “Look who Barry knows!” Felicity swept an arm at Iris West, the girl who served coffee at Felicity’s favorite shop in Cambridge during college. Oliver gave her a wave before wrapping an arm around Felicity’s waist and planting a soft kiss on her cheek. “So Barry, this is Oliver Queen, Oliver this is Barry Allen. He and Iris grew up in the same house.” Felicity made introductions and Oliver shook Barry’s hand. This was so much different than the night before with Ray, he didn’t feel an overwhelming urge to punch Barry because every time Iris wasn’t looking Barry made heart eyes directly at her.

They caught up with Iris for a while, learning that she was a reporter for Central City Picture News and loving it. Barry as he had showed Felicity was in fact a CSI and he worked with Iris’s father at the Central City Police Department. It turns out that Barry also knew John Diggle through Iris’ father who raised him and Oliver and Felicity promised to give John and Lyla their best when they got back to Boston.

Felicity grabbed two coffees to go and started exchanging numbers with Barry and Iris as Oliver stood up from his stool and directly into the path of a face he hadn’t seen in years, Samantha Clayton.

“Oliver.” She said, obviously caught off guard.

“Hi.” He breathed, his heart racing in his chest.

“Hi.” She gave him a warm smile that reminded him so much of the young girl she was when he’d seen her last.

“How are you?” He managed to force out, his lungs feeling too small in his chest.

“Good, good.” She nodded. “It’s been a long time.” She took an unsteady breath and Oliver wondered if he wasn’t the only one suffering.

“We never spoke… after. And I’m so sorry.” His brows drew together as he gave her a pained smile.

“It… It’s fine.” She gave him a pained smile of her own. “I heard about you and Felicity, you two were always so close, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, she’s amazing.” Oliver’s eyes swung to Felicity who gave him a look full of sympathy that made the band around his chest loosen just a little. Samantha smiled at the two of them before clearing her throat gently. Oliver turned his intense blue eyes back to her.

“I should get going.” She pointed to the counter with a polite smile.

“Alright.” Oliver whispered, barely audible as she walked past him. His eyes slammed closed and a feeling he couldn’t really describe filled him as he longed for something more, something else. Felicity appeared before him, her beautiful face twisted with worry.

“Are you okay?” She rested a hand on his upper arm and he allowed that feeling of her fingers on his skin to ground him.

“I’m fine.” He smiled down at her and dropped a kiss to her lips. “Let’s get to the airport.” Oliver took Felicity’s small hand in his and led the way out of the coffee shop without looking back.

On the plane ride home he was pensive and Felicity could feel his discourse but there wasn’t much she could do about it. She just tucked herself under Oliver’s arm and tried her best to let him feel her support, that she would be right by his side no matter what. He kissed her hair softly in gratitude but stayed silent as they flew back home to the other side of the country.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Graphic description of gunshot wound to the hand on a surviving patient.
> 
> Side note, that GSW is a true story from my husbands hospital rotations a while back, he got to help me write this chapter =] Perfect timing since it's my wedding anniversary today!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

Oliver wiped his palms on his jeans for the third time as he waited in the kitchen for his mother. She was out at a luncheon for one of her charity’s and normally Oliver wouldn’t bother her but Felicity was out shopping with Donna this afternoon and this was his best opportunity to speak to Moira without Felicity in the house.

Raisa brought Oliver a fresh cup of hot sbiten and ran a soothing hand over his head. She didn’t ask, she didn’t pry, she just offered her little boy comfort as she had since he was an infant freshly home from the hospital. Whatever happened, whether it was a skinned knee, a bruised heart from a breakup, a hangover, or a tongue lashing from his father for hot-wiring Malcolm Merlyn’s car, Raisa’s arms could heal that pain. Oliver wasn’t exactly in pain this time, but he was nervous as hell so he leaned into Raisa’s warmth and borrowed as much of her strength as he could.

The front door opened and Oliver tensed, Moira walked into the kitchen and straight toward Oliver. “What’s wrong my beautiful boy?” She held both of his cheeks and looked closely at the furrow between his brows.

“Nothing, everything’s great.” He gave her a smile but he knew it wasn’t convincing. “Can we talk in the study?” Moira nodded and led the way to Robert’s office, she didn’t ask Oliver what he needed, knowing he would get there on his own at some point.

It took several minutes of pacing but eventually Oliver turned and stared his mother in the eye. “I need the ring.” He spoke softly and Moira’s face split into a wide grin.

“I hoped that’s why you were here without Felicity.” She was as close to jumping up and down elated that Oliver had ever seen and he deflated slightly.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?” He fell into the soft familiar comfort of the wingback chair in front of his father’s desk.

“Nonsense, I’ve been wondering what’s taken you so long.” Moira made quick work of opening the safe and retrieving a singular ring box. “Here you are dear.” She handed the black velvet box to Oliver and he opened it, gazing once again on the small emerald and diamond ring that he’d chosen the year before, and he thought back to the moment that brought him to this room, to this ring.

It was the week prior to their planned trip to Starling when Oliver woke before his alarm. Felicity had been up all night repairing a code for QC and she had fallen into bed fully clothed and completely exhausted in the early hours of the morning. As Oliver made his way toward consciousness his vision was full of her alabaster skin, her golden hair, and her lovely face, relaxed in sleep. There was a drop of drool at the corner of her mouth, some of her curls were crushed on one side, and there was remnants of makeup from the day before clinging to her lower lids.

She was perfect.

A snore wracked her small frame and she readjusted, scrunching her nose for a moment, and wriggling deeper into the pillow with a sigh. She was more beautiful than anything Oliver could imagine and he had spent the last year of his life happier than he had ever been. He wanted to have this vision every morning for the rest of his life. And in that moment his head finally understood what his heart had known for over ten years. He wanted to marry Felicity Smoak.

So when they made a trip to visit Starling he knew it was time to retrieve the ring from his mother and put it where it belonged, on the third finger of the left hand of the most incredible woman Oliver had ever known.

***

“Just three more baby, you can do this.” Oliver’s voice was strong and supportive but Felicity looked at him with sparks of anger in her clear blue eyes. “Come on, give me three more honey.” She shifted her weight heavily into her left leg then swung her right leg as hard as she could, her shin collided with a pad Oliver was holding with a snap. “That’s it Felicity, two more.”

“Shut up Oliver.” She growled as her shin slapped the pad again.

“Last one.” Oliver reveled in the sneer she gave him, smiling back at her gorgeous face. She gave one final kick then fell to the floor to unwrap her hands.

“You’re the worst.” She grumbled around the piece of tape in her mouth. Oliver just sat beside her, his shoulder bumping hers gently as he unwrapped his own hands. Once she was finished she leaned over and pressed a kiss to Oliver’s sweaty forehead before taking a long swallow of her water and heading upstairs.

Not long after Oliver made his way out of the manor’s basement gym and to his childhood bedroom. When he opened the door he caught a flash of creamy skin and walked closer to the bathroom to find Felicity peeling her workout clothes off, her skin flushed and glistening. He swallowed through the sudden dryness in his throat.

“Can I join you? Or are you still mad at me?” He leaned against the door jam, his own sweaty clothes clinging to the hard planes of his body. Felicity turned to him with a sheepish smile.

“I’m not actually mad at you, sorry if I was snippy.” Her cheeks reddened with a blush and Oliver stepped forward to run his thumb over it softly.

“You don’t have to apologize to me for things that are said in the gym.” He chuckled softly. “If that was the case Digg and I would probably never speak to each other again.” He leaned forward to press his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. “You didn’t confirm if I can join you in the shower.” He whispered against her mouth.

“Of course, you don’t need to ask.” She gave him another firm kiss. “But I think I’m just going to clean up quickly then sit in a bath for a while, I can already feel the soreness creeping in.”

A rush of adrenaline flooded Oliver’s veins when he realized that Donna would be over for dinner tonight, if Felicity could just stay in the bathtub long enough, he could talk to Donna about the ring burning a hole in his travel bag.

Getting Donna alone without making Felicity suspicious was proving to be the hardest part of this trip for Oliver. Normally he’d love spending every waking moment of the day with Felicity, but he just needed five minutes with Donna before they went back to Boston the next day, and this could be his moment.

“That’s sounds good, I can have Raisa bring up a bottle of wine, maybe a book from the library?” His heart pounded in his chest as he attempted to look calm.

“Mm, that would be perfect.” Felicity smiled dreamily up at him and he took a step back.

“I’ll call down for those things and be right there.” He made quick work of his call then showered as fast as he could without making Felicity suspicious before toweling off, getting dressed, and running downstairs to start pacing a hole in the floor while he waited for Donna.

When the older Smoak walked through the door twenty minutes later Oliver immediately grabbed her by the elbow and towed her to the parlor which was rarely used and on the complete opposite side of the house from his bedroom.

“Where are we going handsome?” Donna had to jog slightly in her platform pumps to keep up with Oliver’s quick strides.

“I only have a few minutes but I needed to talk with you.” Oliver shut the door behind them.

“Okay, what do you need hon?” On any other day the slight concern in Donna’s brow would be endearing to Oliver, he loved Donna like a mother and her kindness and compassion were a big part of why. But today all he could feel was the prickle of anxiety racing up and down his spine.

“I need you to promise me that you won’t scream.” He raised his brows and waited for her to nod before pulling the black velvet box out of his pocket. Donna’s eyes flew wide and she scrambled to grab a pillow from the floral sofa so she could cover her mouth as she shrieked with delight. Oliver shushed her, praying Felicity was still in the bath, hopefully with her ears under the water level. Oliver opened the box and Donna shrieked again. “Donna, it would be the greatest honor of my life to marry your daughter.” He took a deep breath, his hands shaking slightly. “May I please have your blessing to ask her?” Donna’s shrieks dissolved into tears and she pulled Oliver into a crushing hug.

“Yes! Yes, of course!” The elation in her voice was infectious and Oliver clung to her tightly. “Are you going to ask her tonight at dinner?” Donna pulled away and dug around in her purse for a tissue which she used to dab at her eyes.

“I was planning to ask her on our anniversary in a few days.” His eyes flicked over Donna’s face, uncertain. She picked up on his emotion and laid a warm hand on his cheek.

“That’s between you and my baby girl Oliver, you ask her however you want to.” She tugged him forward and planted a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for loving my baby the way you do.” She breathed, her chest tight with emotion.

“I take my lead from her.” Oliver could feel the light blush on his cheeks and he ducked his head with a soft smile, even more excited about his first anniversary with Felicity.

***

The surprise dinner reservations at the expensive French restaurant had to be cancelled. There was a fight at the club that required the police to come make arrests as well as take statements and Oliver couldn’t sneak out of it. But even if he could Felicity was out late at a meeting with Ray Palmer to discuss a side project they had decided to take on together and the last train back to Boston wouldn’t have her home until nine-thirty that night.

Oliver cancelled the reservations and made his way to the train station with only a few minutes to spare. Felicity walked onto the platform and slumped into his arms, exhausted from her last minute trip to Providence. Her and Ray were supposed to be meeting halfway between Boston and NYC for lunch but the day got away from them.

“How was your meeting?” Oliver pressed a kiss to Felicity’s hair and held her tightly.

“Long but very productive, we got a lot done.” She stifled a big yawn and blinked her bleary eyes up at Oliver. “How was your fight?” She grinned and he held her even tighter, never one to pass up the chance to have a warm sleepy Felicity in his arms.

“Well thankfully it wasn’t my fight, the cops got it all sorted out and Tommy stayed to look after things tonight.” The forefinger and thumb of Oliver’s right hand rubbed together against Felicity’s back and she furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Tommy’s spending a lot of time at the club when he’s not at the hospital.” She hoped Oliver would tell her otherwise but his heavy sigh confirmed her suspicions.

“I’m pretty sure he’s sleeping on the couch in the office, I don’t think he’s been home for any long stretch of time in a week or two.” Both Oliver and Felicity were concerned about their friends unfortunately there wasn’t much they could do but be there for them and hope for the best. With one more sigh Oliver looked down at Felicity and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “How about a late dinner at Big Belly?” Her bright smile was all the answer he needed and they quickly walked around the block to get burgers.

The day had been long and taxing, they were both exhausted, and yet Oliver still found himself leaning his cheek against a fist and staring across the table at Felicity in rapt attention with a smile. She was prattling on about the work she was doing with Ray, something about nanos… or megabytes… Oliver didn’t really care about the words, he cared about how happy his girl looked when she talked about them. He cared about the way her eyes lit up and she used her fries to draw little diagrams before eating them and making jokes about sudden fatal flaws in the processing speed.

The waitress brought Felicity a mint chip shake with extra hot fudge and she looked across the table to Oliver in confusion. “Did you order this when I was in the bathroom?” He nodded and took one of her hands.

“Happy anniversary Felicity.” His smile was warm and she felt one stretching across her face in response.

“You remembered.” She sighed, so grateful for this amazing man and his love.

“Of course I remembered.” He leaned across the table to kiss her and kept gazing at her like a lovesick puppy while she enjoyed her shake.

By the time they made it home to the brownstone it was just after eleven and Oliver was starting to feel the nerves, and the reality of what today could be. The first day of the rest of his life. He checked his pocket for the thousandth time before walking to the kitchen and pulling a bottle of wine from the rack.

“The Rothschild 1982? I thought you were saving that for a special occasion.” Felicity gave the bottle a longing look.

“You don’t think our one year anniversary is a special occasion?” He huffed a laugh, but it sounded forced to his ears. Felicity seemed none the wiser as she greedily accepted a glass from him and took the first shallow sip.

“This is everything I’ve always dreamed it would be since high school.” She groaned with her eyes closed. “I can’t believe you’ve kept this from me for so long, and now it’s going to be gone.” She pouted at her glass, torn on if she should drink it or cherish it for the rest of time.

“Drink your wine Felicity, I can get more bottles.” She let out a delighted little squeal as they walked to the living room and she settled into the comfy cushions of the navy couch. Oliver put her favorite Beatles album on the record player and settled beside her, pulling her feet up into his lap and rubbing the soles.

They didn’t speak for several minutes, neither feeling the need to fill the quiet with anything other than the music that wrapped around them. Felicity was enjoying her glass of wine and the delicious pressure of Oliver’s thumbs digging into her feet when the record stopped.

“Would you mind?” Oliver asked gently, motioning to the record player. “I’m a little sore from handling those fighting idiots earlier.” He gave her a sheepish smile and she hopped up.

“Of course, I just sat on my butt all day, probably serves me right to get a little exercise.” She chuckled to herself and turned the disk over, set the arm back onto it and let the first few notes of “Here Comes the Sun” wash over her before she turned to fall back onto the couch with Oliver, but Oliver wasn’t on the couch.

Oliver was on the floor.

Down on one knee.

With a ring in his hand.

Felicity gasped and fell back, nearly knocking into the record player as she gripped the table it was perched on for dear life. “What are you doing?” She blurted, then covered her mouth with her free hand.

“I know we haven’t been together very long.” He started, his voice shaking slightly. “And I know my track record with commitment isn’t the best.” He winced and she gave a sympathetic nod. “But what was missing from those relationships was you. You have been beside me when times were darkest, every mistake I’ve made, every loss, every heartbreak, since I was fifteen. You are the one that light’s my way, that has given me a guiding hand through all of those times and I don’t want to imagine the kind of person I would have become without you there for me in the last decade.” He took a steadying breath and kept his gaze locked on hers. “Felicity Smoak, will you make me the happiest man on the face of the earth?” He held the ring up higher and she pressed her palms together, both hands against her lips as she nodded. “Yes?” He needed to be sure before he could let the riot of nerves in his heart go.

“Yes.” She breathed as she fell to her knees and kissed him soundly. They got lost there for a moment, wrapped in each other’s arms and all the happiness they could possibly imagine. When they managed to pull back Oliver slid the ring onto her finger with shaking hands before kissing her again and pulling her to stand with him. Felicity stared down at the ring, so delicate and beautiful, it looked like it belonged there. “I have unfortunate news for you.” She spoke with a wide smile, staring down at her hand for one moment longer before lifting her eyes to Oliver’s concerned face. “You are so stuck with me now Queen.” His smile stretched wide and he swept her up in a tight hug.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

***

Oliver changed all the lighting in Verdant from green to white for their engagement party, he had been running around for weeks making sure everything was as perfect as possible for Felicity. He had arranged for their family’s to fly to Boston, taken care of the catering, made sure the best DJ in town was available, and had Felicity’s favorite champagne stocked by the case.

“I know, I know, I know!” Felicity called as she came running into the club, her heels clicking on the hard floor. “I’m late, I totally lost track of time.” Felicity fumbled to a stop in front of Oliver, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. “Please don’t hate me, I promise not to be late ever again.” She kissed him repeatedly.

“I could never hate you.” Oliver gave her a warm smile and let his lips descend on hers again. “And that’s good news for you, because I know you, my love.” His voice had gone low and soft, just for her, his nose gently bumping against her own. “That’s not a promise you can keep, sometimes you forget about the passing of time, but that’s just another thing that I love about you.” Oliver’s gentle expression washed over her and she beamed up at him.

“What can I do to help?” Felicity took half a step back. “Is there anything that needs my attention?”

“No, I have it all in hand.” He smiled softly down at her. “You can take your time getting ready, maybe go over to the hotel to hang out with your mom while you get dressed?”

“I left my dress in the office, I thought I’d get ready here and spend more time with you.” Her smile was a little too wide and Oliver huffed a laugh.

“Your mom still screaming at the top of her lungs every time she sees you?” He gave her a supportive squeeze.

“Literally every time.” Her sigh was long and dramatic. “I’m so glad she’s happy for us but good god the lungs on that woman are strong enough to bring down a building.” Felicity tipped her forehead into Oliver’s shoulder.

“I’m sure she’ll get it under control soon, you know just in time for us to get married and for her to start her screaming all over again.” Felicity’s head whipped up with comically wide eyes and Oliver pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Kidding, just kidding honey, relax.” She slapped his upper arm and growled something about ‘idiot pine trees’ then she headed for his office to get ready.

Once the party was well under way Moira found Felicity and wrapped the younger blonde in a warm hug. Felicity startled a little, Moira wasn’t known for her public displays of affection. “I am so happy that my son found you.” She sighed, pulling back and taking Felicity’s left hand to look down at her ring. “This ring belonged to my mother, my father gave it to her when Oliver was born. It’s his birthstone and he was their first grandchild.” A light mist of tears was visible in Moira’s eyes and Felicity’s breath caught in her chest. “She started to wear this ring rather than her wedding ring after he was born, they loved him so much. After they both passed I couldn’t find it, but somehow when I had rings pulled out of storage for Oliver, there it was.” Moira discreetly wiped the corner of one eye and Felicity gave her a sheepish smile.

“I had no idea it meant so much to you, do you want me to give it back?” Felicity bit her lip, her heart breaking at the thought of giving up her dream ring, but she was more than willing to do it if that’s what Moira wanted.

“Oh heaven’s no Felicity.” Moira grabbed both of her hands firmly. “I was delighted that Oliver chose that ring for you, it should be worn, not stored away for the rest of my days. I just wanted you to know its history, this ring started with Oliver, I’m thrilled that it will continue with him now. And that it will be worn by the only woman worthy of my son’s heart.” The women shared another long embrace, their smiles much wider when they pulled back.

“Can I get either of you anything?” Tommy stepped up beside Felicity and Moira with a wide smile that Felicity could see wasn’t reaching his eyes.

“I thought you weren’t working tonight Tommy?” Moira gave him a knowing smirk. “Who would have thought you and Oliver would become such workaholics. I appreciate the offer but I will get myself a drink from the bar. Felicity, can I get you anything?” Moira turned her smile to Felicity who shook her head.

“No thank you, I’m going to circulate for a little longer before I drink anything and start making a fool of myself.” She gave a light hearted laugh and waited for Moira to make her way to the bar before turning on Tommy. “Are you okay?”

“Can you turn off your observational super powers for one night please?” Tommy sighed.

“So, it’s safe to say there is in fact something wrong with you?” Felicity laid a hand on Tommy’s arm and he flinched slightly.

“We can talk about that later, this is your engagement party, let’s not ruin the fun.” He gave her a tight smile before looking over her shoulder and freezing. Felicity turned to see Laurel walk into the club, her eyes red-rimmed and slightly puffy. She stood there for a moment scanning the crowd before turning and hurrying to the guys office. “Goddamn it.” Tommy groaned and followed Laurel. Felicity quickly found Oliver in the crowd and pulled him away from an incredibly boring conversation about golf.

“Laurel just came in crying and Tommy followed her to the office.” Felicity worried at the corner of her lip with her teeth. “Do you think we should stay out of it?” Felicity didn’t want to stay out of it, no part of her wanted to stay out of it but she tried like hell to tamp down her inner nosey meddler.

“I can hear you thinking about it.” Oliver scoffed. “Come on.” They walked hand in hand to the office, the door was cracked so they slipped in without knocking to see Laurel crying and clinging to Tommy who had tears in his own eyes.

“I know, I know.” Tommy spoke in a soothing tone, cupping the back of Laurel’s head gently to his chest.

“Laurel?” Felicity asked softly and the older woman spun to face her. “I was worried, what’s going on?” Laurel sniffed and wiped her eyes with Tommy’s handkerchief, turning her watery gaze on Tommy who sighed sadly and nodded.

“Laurel and I have decided that we should both focus on our careers at the present moment and we would be better off doing that as friends.” His voice was tight as he rubbed circles into Laurel’s back.

“You broke up?” Felicity asked, unsure what else to say.

“Yeah, it was time.” Laurel gave a weak smile. “But we’re not angry, and it’s no one’s fault, our lives are just not compatible and the stress was making us both crazy.” Laurel took a deep breath and gave a slightly more convincing smile. “There is one thing we need to talk to you about, Felicity.” Oliver laid a supportive hand on Felicity’s shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to her hair.

“What about?” She looked back and forth between Laurel and Tommy.

“We’re moving out.” Tommy spoke softly. “We think it’s better for both of us to start with a clean slate, but we didn’t want to let go of the loft without speaking to you first. You know, just in case you wanted it.” Tommy rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

“That’s sweet of you both, but my name isn’t even on the lease anymore, I loved that loft, but I have my own tarnished memories there and I think it’s best if we all say goodbye to it.” Felicity stepped forward and pulled both Tommy and Laurel into a hug, then she felt Oliver’s chest press against her back as he wrapped his arms around them as well.

They stood there quietly for a long time, fractured in some ways, and whole in others.

***

A few days later two moving trucks were filled up with Tommy and Laurel’s divided things. Oliver and Felicity helped them pack and they planned to split up to help them both unload their things into their new apartments but first all four of them stood in the empty loft where their adventures in Boston began, taking in the places where they all had memories. Felicity was in this loft when she found out Cooper was dead, and she started dating Sara in that same bedroom. Laurel and Tommy had their first kiss in the kitchen. Oliver remembered Laurel’s first night in Boston when she started to forgive him right there in the living room.

Years of memories filled the space and as much as it hurt to let go of the familiar, it also felt good to let go of the past, to move forward into the next stage of their lives. All four of them shared hugs and wiped a few tears before slowly walking out the front door and leaving it locked behind them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are changing for our heroes, I hope you enjoyed this mostly fluffy chapter =] Thank you!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit of a doozy...

“Yes mom.” Felicity sighed into the phone. “I know you won’t be back in Starling until tomorrow.” She dropped her face into her hand. “No I won’t.” Her golden pony tail flipped from one side to the other as she shook her head. “I promise I will not leave for Boston without seeing you.” There was a momentary pause. “And I promise I will not elope.” Felicity reached with a blind hand and Oliver took it, giving her a supportive squeeze. “Mom I swear we aren’t eloping the day before you get back in town.” The rigid line of Felicity’s shoulders betrayed her stress and Oliver wanted to rub them down but he was in danger of being late for his train. “Fine, fine, one second.” Felicity pressed the phone to her chest and looked to Oliver. “My mother would like to speak to you.” She thrust the phone at him and let it go, no longer caring if he took it or not.

“Hi Donna.” He couldn’t suppress his amused smile. “I assure you there will be no eloping happening today. I’ll be in Central City all day on business, scout’s honor.” They exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up, then Oliver turned his attention to Felicity. “You okay?” He winced slightly at her lying back on the bed, one arm flung over her eyes.

“Are you sure we can’t fly back to Boston tonight? I can get everything done with your mom and Thea today, I swear I can.” She gave him her best pout, big puppy eyes included, but he just laughed and tugged her to her feet.

“No can do my love.” He drew her into his arms and smiled down at her. “There is far too much to be done on this trip to cut it short.” He softened the blow of his words with a sweet kiss pressed to her lips. She tugged on his lapel to get him even closer and licked into his mouth with a groan. “No.” He pulled back with regretful smile. “We don’t have time for that.” One more chaste kiss passed between them before Oliver grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door.

“I love you.” Felicity gave him a longing look and he smiled widely back at her.

“And I love you. Call me if you need anything.” She flopped back onto the bed dramatically and he huffed a laugh to himself as he made his way to the foyer of the manor.

Tommy was speaking with Raisa, waiting for Oliver. “There you are, cut it a little closer why don’t you?” Tommy peered at his watch with raised eyebrows.

“What if we scrapped the whole club.” Oliver offered as though Tommy hadn’t spoken. “We should get a spot on the waterfront and throw yacht parties.” Oliver grabbed Tommy by the shoulders and started leading him out of the house.

“Absolutely not.” Tommy shook his head in disgust. “Yacht’s suck.”

The boys continued their bickering about what their new club would look like all the way to the train station and Oliver reveled in it. With Tommy in med school they don’t spend nearly as much time together anymore and a day trip to Central City for club planning is exactly what they needed.

Verdant II was a half completed building in a bustling part of downtown and both men took a moment to stare at it with pride from the sidewalk. “We did so good Ollie.” Tommy sighed, turning his smile to his oldest friend.

“Yeah we did.” Oliver returned Tommy’s smile and they headed into the building. There were tons of bodies bustling all over the place, working on completing the structure. Oliver made sure to take pictures of the wiring so he could report it back to Felicity and get her opinion on the quality.

Their day was packed full of meetings with engineers, staff interviews, interior decorators, and contracts to sign with their attorney. Tommy was deep in plans for the VIP section when Oliver’s phone buzzed.

**BA: Felicity tells me you’re in the city for the day, coffee?**

**OQ: I could use a break, Jitters in twenty?**

**BA: See you there**

“Coffee break.” Oliver stood and stretched his neck from side to side. “Come on, this will still be here when we get back.” He nudged Tommy but the other man brushed him off.

“You can go ahead, I want to get this finished.” Tommy was fully engrossed in the papers before him, his voice a distracted mumble.

“Suit yourself, I’ll bring you back a frozen blended half-caff non-fat coffee monstrosity.” Oliver offered, trying to gauge just how distracted Tommy was.

“If you fuck with my coffee I will kill you and make it look like an accident.” Tommy said lightly his eyes still scanning the pages and Oliver let out a barking laugh walking out of the building and heading for Jitters on foot.

Barry was late but what else was new, Oliver had gotten used to the antics of the younger man over his many trips to Central City while the club was being built. They were unlikely friends, without much in common but there was something endearing about the excitable, clumsy, young man. In some ways Barry reminded Oliver of Felicity, and that was probably why Oliver was drawn to him. It didn’t hurt that Barry’s connections in the police department sometimes came in handy with navigating the pitfalls of building a club from the ground up.

“Sorry man.” Barry panted as he skidded to a stop beside Oliver in line. “I got caught up in the lab analyzing a DNA sample from a crime scene.”

“It’s fine Barry, I gave myself an extra ten minutes to get here since I knew you’d be late.” Oliver smiled at Barry with a lifted eyebrow.

“It’s seriously not my fault. We were combing the scene of a break-in at a chemical research facility and I found a hair, dark brown to black, coarse, and fairly short, kind of like your length.” Barry trailed off looking at Oliver’s hair. “Not that I think you’re a suspect!” His hands flew up in surrender. “I mean you couldn’t be because you’re blonde anyway, though Felicity did tell me that Tommy Merlyn was coming to town with you this time and his hair color would be a pretty perfect match.”

“Barry.” Oliver laid a firm hand on Barry’s shoulder to ground him.

“Right, of course Tommy isn’t a suspect either, neither of you were even in town last night.” Barry gulped in a deep breath to continue. “Anyway, I was looking through the DNA markers and low and behold it wasn’t a human hair at all. It was a gorilla hair.” His eyes were sparkling with happiness and Oliver had the urge to pat him on the head like an over excited puppy.

“So a gorilla broke into a chemical lab?” Oliver quirked his head in confusion.

“Unlikely, we’re assuming that we’re looking for a zookeeper of some sort, but it was still a fun thing to realize and subsequently it was the reason I was running behind.” Barry flashed a smile and Oliver shook his head.

“The reason you were running behind is because your name is Barry Allen.” Oliver laughed until a small body collided with him and Barry, slipping between them and dropping an action figure as he went. “Oh, watch yourself buddy.” Oliver bent down and picked up the action figure of the Flash, handing it back to the young boy who looked to be about six. “Don’t want to lose this guy.” Oliver’s smile was warm.

“Thanks mister.” The young boy gave a shy smile in return.

“Yeah.” Oliver watched him retreat and head toward the front door but then the smile fell from Oliver’s face.

Samantha Clayton knelt down in front of the boy to straighten his jacket, and Oliver felt his blood run cold, his lips parting as his mouth went dry. Samantha started to stand, placing a gentle kiss on the boys forehead before she led him out the door.

“Oliver?” Barry called when the older man still hadn’t moved and it was their turn at the register. “Oliver are you alright?” Barry got a concerned wrinkle in his brow and Oliver closed his eyes for a moment.

“I’m… I’m… Uh, I’m fine.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I just need to make a call.” Oliver headed for the exit and looked down in wild confusion when Barry grabbed his arm.

“Your coffee?” Barry seemed equally confused on what the hell had changed in his friend.

“Right, um, two large black coffees.” He dug in his wallet and offered Barry a twenty before he hurried out the door, gulping in the crisp November air. He hit his speed dial and leaned against the wall, his whole body shaking with nerves.

“Hey hon.” Felicity’s voice came pouring down the line and Oliver let out a shuddering breath. “Oliver? Is everything alright?”

“Um… I don’t… I saw.” He broke off with a growl, running a hand over his short hair.

“Usually you aren’t the one that struggles with words.” Her tone was light but there was a soft tremor in her voice and Oliver knew that was his fault, she was concerned about him, his sweet Felicity.

“I saw Samantha.” He whispered, his heart thundering in his chest.

“Again? I’m sorry Oliver, I know that was hard for you when you ran into her in March.” Felicity’s voice was soothing but it did nothing to still the shaking of Oliver’s large frame.

“No, you don’t, I mean yes that was hard but that’s not all.” He took a steadying breath. “She had a little boy with her, about six years old, dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, tall for his age.” Oliver’s voice cracked and his finger rubbed against each other with his mounting anxiety. “Felicity, I don’t know… what do I do? I don’t know what to do.” He rested all of his stress on Felicity, knowing without a doubt that she was strong enough to take the weight.

“Oh Oliver, take a deep breath for me honey.” She waited until she heard his shaky inhale through the phone. “Good, now take another one.” He obliged, letting his head thump against the brick wall at his back. “I think you need to go have a conversation with Samantha.” Her voice was gentle but Oliver’s heartrate still spiked at the words.

“Felicity I don’t know if I can.” His voice was raw and vulnerable in a way he only ever was with her.

“Yes you can, and if you don’t you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering what might have been.” Felicity was firm and Oliver nodded though she couldn’t see him, he just couldn’t find his voice in that moment. “Do you need me to get you her address?” Oliver nodded then realized Felicity was looking for an answer.

“Yes.” He whispered. “Please.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of it.” Felicity sighed. “It will be a little slow on my phone so give me a few minutes alright?”

“Okay, I love you Felicity. Thank you.” Oliver was barely clinging to his sanity and Felicity was at the center of that.

“I love you Oliver, and you never need to thank me. I’ll send you the address as soon as I have it.” They signed off and Oliver rested against the wall for another moment.

“Oliver?” Barry approached from inside.

“Yeah?” He scrubbed both hands over his face roughly and forced a smile.

“I have to get back to my lab.” Barry hesitated as he handed Oliver a carrier laden with two coffees. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, it’s just some personal stuff from a long time ago.” His smile was slightly more sincere this time. He and Barry exchanged a quick hug before the younger man headed in the direction of the police station and Oliver walked back to the club while he waited for Felicity’s text.

Thankfully Tommy was still fully engrossed in his work and didn’t find anything odd about Oliver having a rental car dropped off at the club.

“I have to go run an errand.” Oliver was still a mess and if Tommy was paying any attention at all he would know that.

“Okay, I was going to order lunch but I think we should just eat on the train. Unless you’re starving then you can find something for yourself.” Tommy scribbled in the margins of a contract as he spoke.

“Uh yeah, I’ll figure something out.” Oliver headed to his rental and plugged the address into his phone, his heart hammering the entire drive.

He parked across the street and worried himself sick for a few moments while he tried to decide what to say or how to say it, but then Samantha and that beautiful little boy walked out of the house. Oliver froze, his hand stuck to his face where he had been rubbing his beard with his palm. The sight of Samantha closing the little boy into the backseat shocked Oliver into moving, not wanting to miss this chance. He climbed out of the car and shut the door sharply enough that Samantha turned toward him with a look of confusion.

“Oliver?” She squinted in his direction.

“Hi.” He forced the word out of his mouth, his whole body still thrumming with nerves.

“Um, hold on one second.” She spoke softly to the boy through the open car window before hurrying across the street. “What are you doing here?” Her brows were still pinched together with concern.

“I’m so sorry to just drop by unannounced.” Oliver took a few steps toward her his hand outstretched before he thought better of it and stuffed both hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. “I came to town this morning and I… I saw you with your son.” He did his best to speak clearly though the enormity of the situation was pressing down on his chest like a physical weight.

“William.” Samantha nodded to him.

“William?” Oliver couldn’t stop his voice from cracking slightly. “That’s a nice name.” His smile was more genuine now that he had a name for the child that was very likely his son.

“Oliver, what are you doing at my house?” Samantha was smiling but her eyes flashed with concern as she tilted her head.

“I… Saw you and William together.” Oliver mustered all of the courage he had inside him to continue. “And I… It’s… It’s difficult not to wonder because he’s… He’s what? Six? And, you know, we had our thing seven years ago, and...” He paused to take a breath and shoot Samantha a tight smile.

“Okay, let me stop you right there.” Samantha gave a warm smile in return though the look in her eye never wavered.

“Alright.” Oliver looked to the sidewalk, a riot of emotion still swirling inside him.

“William isn’t yours.” The words were like an arrow to the heart and Oliver felt tears welling in his eyes. “I told you I lost our baby, Oliver.”

“Yes.” The word was a hoarse whisper that scraped out of his tight throat.

“And I met William’s father two months after moving to Central City, so…” They nodded at each other until William’s voice cut through the tension.

“Mom, we’re gonna miss the game.” Samantha shot a smile over her shoulder before returning her attention to Oliver.

“Sorry, I have to go.” She turned the wattage up on her smile, an apologetic twist in her brow.

“No, go.” Oliver forced a wooden smile back at her.

“Okay.” When Samantha spun and started to flee she dropped a baseball cap.

“Oh.” Oliver leaned down to collect it. “Here you are.” He brushed some of the fall leaves off the brim “Sorry.” He said carefully then he felt the slightest tickle in his palm and he closed his fist quickly before handing the cap to Samantha. “Wish William good luck for me.” Oliver looked directly at Samantha, feeling calmer than he had the entire exchange.

“I will.” She shrunk a little under his gaze then spun and jogged back to her van. When Oliver looked down at his palm there was a singular hair that he held onto for all he was worth pulling his phone out as he made his way back into his rental car. The person on the other end picked up in a bright and cheerful voice.

“Hey, I have an enormous favor to ask.” Oliver started the car and turned back the way he’d come.

***

“Okay here you go.” Barry handed the freshly printed sheet of results to an incredibly nervous Oliver. “I gene sequenced the hair strand with the blood sample you gave me. Still not sure what it has to do with opening a night club…” Barry trailed off suspiciously, not buying any of Oliver’s vague bullshit excuses about why he needed this information. “But the Y chromosomes match.” Barry glanced at Oliver’s face and what he thought was an unsteady Oliver before looked like the floor had been yanked out from under him. “Are you okay?” Barry’s brow’s drew together with worry.

“Thanks for this, it’s a big help.” Oliver turned and started walking out of the lab.

“Yeah.” Barry breathed, even more confused by his friends departure.

“Barry?” Oliver paused to lean against a column and look back at the younger man.

“Yeah?” Barry repeated.

“Don’t tell anyone about this.” Oliver didn’t wait for a confirmation, he just blew out of the lab and out of the station as fast as he could without causing a scene.

Tommy was wrapping up when Oliver got back to Verdant II. “Remember the time that you were all, ‘Don’t worry best buddy of mine, I’ll take care of all the heavy lifting and you can just enjoy the spoils of my labor?’” Tommy spoke while he packed his briefcase. “Well you suck at doing all the heavy lifting.” He looked up at Oliver and his amused smile fell off his face. “What the hell happened to you?” Tommy approached Oliver quickly and ran his eyes over his best friend.

“I uh, I need to stick around here to deal with something.” Oliver pleaded with his eyes for Tommy not to ask too many questions. “It’s nothing to do with the club, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“Okay, do you need me to stay with you?” Tommy, the incredible friend that he was, trusted that Oliver would tell him what he needed to know when he was ready.

“No, this is something I have to take care of on my own.” Oliver gave a watery smile and Tommy pulled him into a tight hug, they stood like that for a long moment, Tommy offering what strength he could and Oliver leaning into it greedily. “Thanks buddy.” Oliver sighed as they parted and watched Tommy climb into a cab and head for the train station.

It was time to call Felicity.

Oliver sat heavily on the new staircase in the club, the results of the DNA test burning a hole in his pocket as he dialed the phone and held it to his ear.

“Oliver?” Felicity’s voice was careful. “Did Barry run the test for you?”

“Yeah he did.” Oliver breathed, and she waited for him to elaborate. “He’s mine Felicity.” A tear rolled down his cheek and her heart shattered for him.

“Oh Oliver.” She pressed a hand to her aching chest.

“I asked her and she lied to my face, why would she do that? Am I really that horrible of a potential father?” The questions were rhetorical but Felicity couldn’t stop herself from soothing his fears.

“Of course not Oliver, you are an incredible potential father and I’m excited for my future kids to have you as their dad. What do you want to do now?” She asked in a soft voice.

“I don’t… I don’t… I don’t know what to do.” He wept with the weight of six years that he missed of being a father, that his son missed of having a father. Unless Samantha had a man in her life and his son called someone else daddy. That thought angered him until he realized he had no leg to stand on, he wasn’t there, how he could blame any other man for filling that void.

“Okay, honey I need you to relax.” Felicity tried to calm him over the phone. “Just don’t do anything with Samantha yet, I’m on my way.” Oliver let out a muffled sob of relief, this was going to be hard, it was going to hurt, and doing it with Felicity would make it so much more bearable.

“I love you so much.” He choked out, the fingers of his free hand pressed to his eyes.

“I love you, why don’t you get us a hotel room and I’ll see you in a couple hours with some dinner in hand?” They exchanged goodbyes and Oliver went through the motions of getting them a room for the night on autopilot, just counting down the minutes until he would have his fiancé with him so they could face the mother of his son together.

***

Felicity convinced Oliver to wait until the next day to confront Samantha, they drove in silence through the cheerful neighborhood, hands tightly laced until they pulled up in a few doors down from the lovely blue house Oliver had visited the day before. As they approached the gate Samantha caught sight of them and stood from her chair where she was watching William play on the porch.

“Honey, why don’t you go finish that inside?” She gave him a hollow smile, her eyes darting back to Oliver and Felicity.

“But Mom! The Flash hasn’t saved the city yet” He protested, showing his action figures as proof.

“Now, honey.” Her voice was stern and William made his way inside with a heavy sigh.

“Can we talk?” Oliver asked as they made their way into the front yard, his hand squeezing Felicity’s painfully tight, but she just squeezed him back.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish here Oliver.” Samantha came down a few stairs, her smile in place but the same concerned glint in her eye from the day before.

“I know, Samantha.” Oliver looked directly into her eyes and when she continued to play dumb he pointed toward the house, his voice tight with emotion. “I know that William is my son.” Samantha froze for a moment, seeming to weigh her options before she looked down at her hands.

“Okay.” She spoke softly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He was angry, and hurt, and scared. Felicity set her chin against his upper arm in support.

“Okay, just keep your voice down.” Samantha raised both of her hands and took a deep breath. “You’re mother told me not to.” She offered quietly.

“What?” Oliver’s head spun, his mother didn’t even know about the baby, there was no way Samantha was telling the truth.

“She offered me a million dollars to tell you that I miscarried.” Samantha held his gaze with a steady one of her own.

“My mother is a complicated person, but she would never do that.” Oliver said, vehemently.

“I can show you.” Samantha offered, leading Oliver and Felicity into the house. “Wait here.” She turned to them once she’d crossed the threshold then stepped deeper into the house. Oliver closed the door behind them and peeked at a few of the pictures lining the entry table. Pictures of his boy. “Here.” Samantha reappeared with a check in her hand, she offered it to Oliver and he took it gently. It was in fact one of his parents checks, made out to Samantha in the amount of one million dollars. “I never cashed it.” She sighed. “I didn’t need her money to know I didn’t want her anywhere near my child.” Sam’s voiced brooked no argument and Oliver felt the culmination of the past two days fill him with anger and pain.

“Or me anywhere near him.” He nodded slightly.

“So what? He can be just like his dad?” Samantha walked down the hallway and Oliver followed close behind. “Punching out paparazzi and getting young girls knocked up.” They ended up in the kitchen where Samantha started straightening up.

“Samantha I’m not that person anymore.” Oliver spoke through his teeth.

“I know, I know, you own a successful business, you live in Boston, you’re engaged, you’re a different person now.” Her eyes flicked to Felicity before returning to Oliver. “But can you really tell me that your life is any less crazy? Can you honestly say that William isn’t better off with your world kept away from his?” She gave him one last glare before moving on to clean up the table.

“You know, you’re right, I’m being selfish but I want an opportunity to get to know my son. And I think that a young boy deserves the opportunity to get to know his father.” He choked on the word father, something he’s always wanted and now it’s two inches in front of him and this brunette spitfire is doing her damnedest to make sure he never gets it.

“Look, he’s happy.” Samantha flitted back across the room again with the dishes from the table. “He’s, he’s well adjusted. I don’t want to run the risk of his getting sucked into your orbit.” The dishes hit the sink with a clatter. “That can’t happen, which means that he can’t know that you’re his father.” Samantha set her jaw and Oliver could see that he would lose a fight if he picked one. “And nobody else can. I don’t care if that sounds harsh, I’m his mother and I will do whatever.” She made sure Oliver was looking directly into her eyes. “Whatever, I feel I have to do to protect him.” Tears slipped from Oliver’s eyes as he thought of his son never knowing Tommy, or Thea, or Donna. He tried to think of an argument, any argument that could sway her but he couldn’t even find his voice. Then suddenly his vision was filled with golden curls as Felicity slipped between him and Samantha, leaning back into his space to give him comfort.

“While we are respectful of the fact that you are William’s mother, Oliver is his father, and he has rights.” Her voice was factual and calm, and Oliver wrapped a hand around her hip in thanks. “We will file a petition for custody if we have to.” Samantha opened her mouth to retort, her face twisted in indignation but Felicity continued without pausing. “We don’t want to do that, and Oliver would never suggest it, but I have to advocate for him when he won’t do it for himself. You want to set boundaries and limitations informally without a court order, fine, we can work with that, but I will not allow you to intimidate Oliver into denying that he’s William’s father because of your personal hang-ups. I don’t care if that sounds harsh, I’m his fiancé and I will do whatever it takes to protect him.” Felicity stood there in front of him, his little lioness with her wild blonde curls and spine of pure steel, staring down the mother of his son.

“We can start small.” Oliver offered softly, giving Felicity’s hip a light squeeze to let her know she could stand down. “I’m building a club here in town, I’ll be here on a regular basis and we can make the visits short with your full supervision.” Oliver tugged Felicity back toward him a little. He didn’t want to start this relationship with Samantha by ganging up on her and causing tension.

“I swear to god Oliver if you hurt him.” She showed a chink in her armor for the first time as her eyes welled with tears.

“I won’t. Samantha, I swear to you that I won’t do anything to hurt him.” Oliver held on to Felicity tighter. “I just want the chance to know him.” His voice was equally full of emotion and Samantha nodded cautiously.

“Okay.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Okay, he’s up in his room, I’ll take you.” The three of them made their way upstairs and Samantha knocked softly on the doorjamb before stepping into the room.

“Honey, there is someone here I’d like for you to meet.” Samantha crouched down in front of William and made solid eye contact with him. “Do you remember when you asked me where your daddy was and I told you he lived very far away and that he didn’t know our address so he couldn’t find his way here?” William nodded solemnly and Samantha took a deep breath. “Well this is Oliver.” She stretched a hand back and Oliver stepped into the room. “William, Oliver is your daddy.” Oliver could see Samantha’s hands shaking and he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, trying to assure her that everything would be okay.

“Really?” William’s eyes went wide as he looked all the way up at Oliver standing in his room, Oliver crouched next to Samantha to be a little less intimidating.

“Yeah William, I’m your dad.” Oliver extended a hand to shake but William launched into his arms instead. Oliver wrapped his long arms around the boy and held him tightly, fighting down the emotion threatening to choke him.

“Where were you?” William spoke into Oliver’s neck. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too kiddo.” His voice was hoarse, his eyes tightly closed as he held the slight weight in his arms just a little bit tighter. “I didn’t know you were here, and as soon as I found out I came to find you.” Oliver quickly wiped his eyes and motioned to Felicity. “William this is my fiancé, Felicity, do you know what fiancé means?” William shook his head no against Oliver, peeking at Felicity curiously. “That just means we’re getting married soon, so she’ll be your step-mom.”

“Hi William.” Felicity stayed standing, wanting to let Oliver and his son have their time together. William waved at her and turned his attention back to his father.

“I’d like to come to visit more often now, would that be alright with you?” William pulled away and Oliver had to force himself to let go.

“Yeah, that would be cool.” The boy started arranging some of his toys. “Do you want to play action figures?” He offered one to Oliver.

“I’d love to.” He took the figure and sat cross legged in front of William, he looked so comically large in a child’s bedroom but from where William sat a dad should be larger than life and he took a shine to Oliver immediately.

Samantha stood on shaking legs and stepped out of the room slightly, pressing her fingers to her mouth. “Oh god, I’m going to throw up.” She whispered but it was loud enough that Felicity heard her.

“You can trust him.” Felicity stepped up beside the older woman and gave her a soft smile.

“That is my child in that room, and I’m putting his heart in the hands of a man who cheated on his girlfriend and got a seventeen year old girl pregnant.” Samantha pressed her hands to her face. “God what am I thinking.”

“He changed, you know.” Felicity stepped in front of Samantha.

“He’s different now, I know.” The brunette waved a hand in front of her to dismiss Felicity.

“No, after you told him about your pregnancy.” Samantha’s eyes went wide around the edges and Felicity smiled. “Oh I knew, Oliver has never kept secrets from me. After you told him, he broke up with Laurel for good, and he bought a house in Boston instead of moving into a loft with the rest of us. He wanted to have room at his place for the baby. He was heartbroken when you called the day of graduation and a little piece of Oliver has been broken since that moment.” Felicity laid a gentle hand on Samantha’s shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. “I can promise you that Oliver would never do anything to jeopardize his relationship with William. He will show up, he will give financial support, he will call every single day, he will be an incredible father to that little boy if you let him.” Felicity placed her other hand on Samantha’s opposite shoulder and ducked her head a little to catch the older woman’s eye. “Please let him.” Felicity nodded toward the bedroom and Samantha spun to look.

William and Oliver sat side by side, their backs to the door and their heads bent toward each other. William looked like the spitting image of his father when they turned toward each other and their profiles were exposed to Samantha and Felicity. “Oh my god.” Samantha’s fingers found her mouth again and Felicity smiled brightly at the love of her life with his little boy. None of this would be simple or easy but the looks that Oliver and William were giving each other would be worth it.

***

They caught the last train back to Starling after spending the whole day with William and Samantha. Oliver arranged for them to fly back to Boston the next day but they needed to make a stop at the manor first.

Moira was in the kitchen with Raisa discussing the week’s menu when Oliver came rushing into the room, murder in his gaze.

“I need to speak with you, now.” He spoke through his teeth, turning to leave the room without waiting for a response.

“Oliver, what on earth is going on?” Moira followed him to the sitting room where Robert was on a couch and Felicity was standing opposite him. Moira sat beside Robert hesitantly.

“Did you or did you not offer Samantha Clayton one million dollars to disappear and tell me that she miscarried my child?” Oliver stared at his mother and she looked directly back at him with a look of bewilderment.

“What are you talking about?” Moira kept her veil of ignorance and Oliver shook his head in disbelief.

“Are you really going to sit there and lie to my fucking face?” He fumed and Moira set a hand on her chest.

“Oliver! Watch your language!” She snapped.

“I will not watch my goddamned language because you sent the mother of my child away and robbed me of six fucking years that I could have known my son.” Tears spilled down Oliver’s cheeks and Felicity laid a small hand on his back in support. “How could you do that?” His voice was small and hurt and Moira took a moment to collect herself.

“Having a child at nineteen threatened your future, it could have ruined your life.” Moira was still cold and detached and Oliver was only growing more livid.

“We’re not talking about stealing a taxi or peeing on a cop and you flashing your checkbook to make the arrests go away. This is my fucking child mom!” Oliver’s eyes flashed with fury and Moira swallowed, straightening her back.

“I know we need to talk.” Moira offered.

“You need to listen.” Oliver’s soft voice sliced through the room and everyone waited on bated breath for what he’d say next. “For years I have stood by your side as the doting son, I have represented the family against the same rumors we all face because I needed to believe that you weren’t this… monster.” His fingers rubbed together as he stared at the carpet. “And I needed to believe I still had a mother.” His eyes lifted to Moira and she blanched.

“You do.” Moira stood with the clear intention of rushing to Oliver and he held his hands up to warn her off. “Oliver I only lied about the child to protect you.”

“No, no you lied because that is what you do,” He paused to take a breath. “And that is who you are mom. Lies.” He spat straightening his back. “And now you’ve made a liar out of me. My son has lived without his father for six years and I will be making up for that the rest of my life. And now I have to lie to my baby sister so she doesn’t find out the truth about us.” Oliver bit the tip of his tongue to steady himself. “Which is, as of right now, we have no relationship.” Moira’s eyes welled with tears and Robert surged to his feet as well. “I will keep up appearances for Thea’s sake and publicly I will support the company and the family.” Moira shook her head turning to Robert for support who placed his arm around her. “But privately. The two of you and I. Are done.”

“Oliver.” Moira sobbed as she stepped toward him, but he held his hands up and walked from the room. “Oliver!” Moira’s voice was broken as she called to him but he walked right out of the manor. “Felicity.” Moira turned to her soon to be daughter in law. “Will you please speak to him-.” Felicity threw her hand up to cut Moira off.

“I cannot speak to him for you, nor will I be speaking to either of you going forward. I am in support of the choice that Oliver made. Perhaps you should have thought through the choices that lead you to this particular moment. You have no one to blame but yourselves.” Felicity spun on her heel and made her way upstairs to pack their things. They spent their final night in Starling at Donna and Quentin’s place, Oliver quietly crying against Felicity’s neck in the middle of the night while she held him as tightly as she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I did this one justice, I know some of you were nervous about how this would play out.
> 
> As always I thank you so much for reading =]


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Light trigger warning in the end notes =]

“Honey can you grab the new sheets we bought and put them on the bed?” Felicity called to Oliver from where she was scrubbing the dishes from breakfast as he finished mopping the dining room floor.

“Of course.” Oliver kissed the crook of her neck as he made his way to the basement. She giggled at the tickle of his stubble and his free hand reached out to squeeze her hip, a growl rolling through his chest.

“Oliver, we do not have time for this.” She groaned as he slipped his hand under her shirt to the silky bare skin beneath, the kisses on her neck growing more insistent. “Clay will be pulling up in twenty minutes, do you really want to have me naked on the counter when he gets here?” She laughed softly and Oliver froze for a moment, when he didn’t move Felicity laughed again. “Are you really having to contemplate this?”

“I can be quick.” He spoke with a laugh, pulling himself away and into the basement. He stored his mop and tugged the still warm bedding out of the dryer, smiling to himself as he made his way up to the third floor and started to dress the bed.

The bright Flash sheets clashed badly with the Batman comforter and the Harry Potter poster on the same wall. The whole room was a mess of colors and patterns but that’s what Oliver’s little boy wanted so that’s what he got.

This would be William’s first trip to Boston and Oliver had been a nervous wreck since they had decided on the trip, and honestly Samantha had been pretty rough as well, snapping at Oliver over the phone and reminding him that there would be no second chances. Felicity had been their saving grace when she put together an interactive virtual model of William’s room in the brownstone so he could use the program to decorate it himself. The almost seven year old was so excited to work on the room that it eased both of his parents worry to more manageable levels.

Once Oliver came back down the stairs there was a knock on the front door and he hurried to open it. Clay stood there with a warm smile on his face and one hand braced on William’s shoulder.

“Daddy!” William’s face lit up with a smile as he barreled into Oliver’s legs. The overwhelming swell of joy that struck Oliver directly in the chest was still brand new, he’d barely known about his son a month and already he couldn’t imagine loving a human being more.

“Hey Buddy, how was your flight?” Oliver dropped to his knees easily, engulfing his little boy in his arms.

“It was so fun, we got really high in the sky and my ears made a weird noise, then Mr. Clay gave me candy and it made the weird noise go away.” William spoke a mile a minute, tugging on Oliver’s collar with an excited gleam in his eyes.

“I see that Mr. Clay gave you plenty of candy.” Oliver chuckled good naturedly and drew his boy into another tight hug. “Are you ready to see your new room? Maybe you’re hungry? Or need to go potty?” The nerves were getting the best of Oliver, his clammy palms smoothing down William’s back over and over.

“Is Felicity here?” William pulled back to look at Oliver.

“Of course she should be right…” When Oliver spun to check the kitchen his beautiful fiancé was on the phone, she stepped closer when Oliver spotted her, the conversation coming clear.

“Of course Samantha, I wouldn’t dream of anything else.” Felicity smiled brightly, waving at William as she stepped up to Oliver side, still down on his knees. “Do you want to talk to him?” She listened for a moment before putting her phone on speaker and stretching it toward William. “It’s your mom buddy.”

“Hey sweetheart.” Samantha’s voice came through the phone, wavering slightly.

“Hi Mommy!” William’s small voice was bursting with happiness.

“How was your trip? Is your dad’s house okay?” Her voice sounded tight with emotion and Oliver wished he knew how to soothe her.

“My trip was awesome, airplanes are like magic but Mr. Clay said Felicity would explain how they are made of science when I got here.” William kept up his insane rate of speech, his smile still firmly in place. “Daddy’s house is cool, it’s a hundred years old, isn’t that so old? But I haven’t seen all of it yet so I’ll call you again after I know all about it.”

“Okay honey, you have fun with your dad and Felicity, and call me anytime you need me.” She paused for a moment. “I love you William.”

“Love you mom!” Felicity flipped the phone off speaker and with a few more assurances she ended the call with Samantha.

“I guess I’ll get out of your hair, now that he’s safely with you. If you need anything for him just let me know.” Clay was about to turn and leave but Felicity pulled him in for a tight hug.

“Thank you for bringing him here to us safely. Enjoy Boston.” She pulled back and gave him a grateful smile. Oliver stepped forward to shake Clay’s hand firmly.

“We really can’t thank you enough man.” Oliver clapped Clay on the shoulder and the older man left, shutting the door softly behind him.

“Come on buddy, let’s go see your room.” Felicity took William’s hand while Oliver and grabbed his bags and they headed for the third floor.

“Whoa! This is so cool!” The young boy looked at all of the new things in his room one by one, his bright smile infectious to everyone in the house. Once he had his fill Oliver took him on a tour of the entire house, ending with the kitchen.

“Are you hungry? It’s almost lunchtime.” Oliver grabbed William under the arms and swung him up onto the counter beside the stove. “Your mom said you like mac and cheese.” Oliver opened the fridge and pulled out two blocks of cheese then grabbed the box grater from a cabinet. “If you grate this cheese it would be a big help. Just promise to be careful with your fingers, the grater is sharp.”

“I promise.” William smiled wide enough to show a missing molar then started grating the cheese. Felicity stepped a little closer to keep an eye on him. When Oliver pulled the rest of the ingredients out William looked around in confusion. “Where’s the mac and cheese?”

“We’re going to make it.” Oliver smiled at his boy as he salted a pot full of water.

“But you need the blue box.” The confused wrinkle between his eyes was so adorable and Felicity laughed softly.

“You won’t find any blue boxes in this house. Your dad makes everything from scratch.” Felicity tousled William’s hair, the other hand braced on the counter beside his hip, caging him in.

Oliver spent the next thirty minutes explaining the process to William, letting him stir the sauce and teaching him how to test pasta for doneness. They sat on the floor of the living room to eat, How to Train Your Dragon playing on the TV and William wedged between Oliver and Felicity.

They spent the rest of the day at the park ice skating and drinking cocoa in the heated skate lodge. By the time they were settled in the cab for the ride back to the brownstone William was fast asleep, tucked under Oliver’s arm. The look of wonder on Oliver’s face as he gazed down at his son was one of the most beautiful things Felicity had ever seen, and it made her chest ache, someday Oliver would be looking at their child like that. Her heart tripped at the thought but she pushed it down in favor of enjoying the time they had with William. The little boy really had been the perfect addition to their family and Felicity was so thankful they had him. She yearned to have children with Oliver, but only in addition to William, not at the exclusion of him.

Oliver scooped William’s pile of lanky limbs up into his arms and walked him up to his new bedroom, carefully settling him on the bed and flipping on Thea’s old nightlight that played classical music as soft stars danced on the ceiling. Felicity turned on the new monitor they bought and laid a gentle hand on Oliver shoulder before she slipped from the room. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to William’s downy hair before following her, the lights led him to the kitchen where Felicity was waiting with two glasses of red wine.

“A little dad juice for a job well done.” She smiled brightly, clinking glasses with him and taking a sip.

“I didn’t do much.” Oliver shrugged. “We just made lunch and went ice skating.” His cheeks warmed at the thought.

“That little boy adores you and you made his year with just those simple things. Don’t sell yourself short Oliver Queen, just spending time with you is worth it.” She ran a hand over Oliver’s scruff gently, his cheeks pinking even more with her praise.

They stood there quietly drinking their wine and softly holding hands, no need for idle chatter as they shared the moment. But their quiet silence was broken when the monitor crackled to life. The little whimper that came through shot like an arrow right through Oliver’s heart and in blink he was sprinting up the two flights of stairs to William’s room and throwing the door open.

“Daddy?” William’s voice was full of tears and in an instant Oliver had his boy in his arms.

“I’m right here buddy. You’re okay.” A deep shuddering breath shook Oliver’s frame as he clung to William. “I’ve got you.” Felicity appeared in the doorway, her hand pressed to her chest, deflating in relief when she saw her boys.

“What happened bud?” She spoke softly, walking into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed beside Oliver.

“I woke up and I didn’t remember where I was.” He sniffed, pulling on Oliver’s t-shirt with tight fists.

“That’s alright kiddo, being scared happens to everyone.” Oliver could feel his pulse returning to normal as he soothed his hands up and down his son’s back. “You’ve never been here before and this house is big and old, sometimes it makes weird noises.” William nodded, his head tucked under Oliver’s chin.

“You know the first time I spent the night at your grandparent’s house in high school I heard scary noises and I jumped right out of bed and ran to your dad’s room.” Felicity offered a smile. “I was terrified of that house at night sometimes, but your dad always kept me safe.” She laid a hand on Oliver’s shoulder.

“Do you think I could…” William trailed off, his voice small and nervous. “When I have bad dreams my mom lets me sleep in her bed.” He whispered.

“Do you want to sleep upstairs with me and Felicity?” Oliver spoke slowly, barely letting himself hope.

“It’s okay, I don’t have to.” William quickly backpedaled.

“No buddy it’s fine.” Oliver gave him a gentle squeeze. “Put on your PJ’s and come on up when you’re ready, okay?” He nodded and wiped his face roughly with his sleeve.

Oliver was brushing his teeth when William showed up in their doorway wearing comic strip pajamas and holding a teddy bear.

“Come on in honey.” Felicity patted the middle of the bed and William scrambled to climb up. “What should we watch to fall asleep?” She skipped to the menu and waited for William’s input.

“What do you usually watch?” His big blue eyes were so inquisitive and it warmed Felicity to see it.

“I like documentaries, usually about nature.” She smiled down at him and he thought for a moment before nodding.

“I think that sounds good.” He snuggled a little closer to Felicity as she selected an ocean documentary and Oliver crawled into bed on William’s other side. They all settled in quickly and soon enough William had drifted back to sleep with his head on Felicity’s shoulder. Oliver watched them quietly with a smile until he too fell to sleep. His left arm stretched over both of them to keep them close and safe.

***

The next night after dinner the family was sitting in the living room watching a football game. It was Central City vs Starling City and Oliver was thoroughly enjoying poking fun at William and getting his son riled up about the game. The young man headed down to the kitchen to refill his juice when the sound of glass shattering and a pained cry had Oliver and Felicity on their feet, bolting down the stairs.

“William!” Oliver called, his voice panicked. When he skidded into the kitchen William was sobbing and clutching his leg, a nasty cut on his shin bleeding heavily.

“I’m sorry daddy.” He choked out between his cries. “I didn’t mean to drop it.” Oliver tugged William into his arms and out of the glass.

“Don’t worry about that.” Oliver assured him as best he could. “I just want to take a look at your leg okay?” William shook his head no quickly.

“It hurts.” He whimpered, his face digging into Oliver’s neck.

“I know buddy, but I need to take a look.” Oliver set William on the kitchen island and unhooked his arms from around Oliver’s neck. “This will only take a second, and you don’t have to try to be brave, I know it hurts.” William nodded a little, his bottom lip tucked tightly into his teeth. Oliver did his best to peer at the cut, but it was still bleeding heavily and he didn’t know what the hell to do. He quickly fumbled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the only person he knew could help, his other arm wrapping gently around William.

“Hello.” The voice on the other line picked up after three rings, a cacophony of noise in the background.

“How fast can you get to my house?” Oliver skipped all pretenses, his voice urgent.

“Ollie, I’m sort of in the middle of something.” Tommy huffed.

“It’s an emergency Tommy, William’s hurt and I need you.” Oliver hung up and jammed his phone back in his pocket. Felicity stepped up next to him with a clean towel from the hall closet.

“Buddy I’m so sorry about this but I need to put some pressure on your cut to help with the bleeding.” Felicity set the towel against William’s leg and he yelped in pain. “I know it hurts honey, but we have to slow the bleeding down.” She looked near tears herself as she continued to hold pressure on the leg and Oliver tugged William even closer, tucking his head beneath his own chin.

It felt like hours when the front door finally flew open and Tommy rushed in with a duffel bag over one shoulder. “What the hell happened?” He dropped his bag beside William on the counter and started pulling out supplies.

“He dropped a glass and cut his leg, it was bleeding pretty bad.” Oliver fit his palm to the back of William’s head.

“Hey Will.” Tommy spoke gently. “Do you know who I am?” William nodded and sniffed.

“You’re uncle Tommy, daddy’s brother.” Oliver opened his mouth to correct William but Tommy spoke first.

“That’s right.” He smiled widely. “I’m your dad’s much cooler, much older brother.”

“Older by three months Tommy.” Oliver scoffed.

“Hey three months is still older.” That wicked Merlyn grin was tugging up the edges of Tommy’s lips as he carefully drew up a syringe of lidocaine. “Alright Will, I want you to look away from me for just a minute, go ahead and put your face in your dad’s shirt and hold on to him super tight. It’s okay to squeeze him hard, you won’t hurt him.” Tommy gently nudged Felicity out of the way and removed the towel. “You’re going to feel a couple pinches and some stinging but then everything will feel so much better okay?” William nodded with his face buried in Oliver’s neck.

At the first poke of Tommy’s needle William flinched and grabbing on to Oliver even tighter, a pained whimper coming from his chest. But Tommy was prepared and he had a tight grip on William’s leg with his free hand. He made quick work of the rest of the lidocaine and set a suture kit up as well as a pile of gauze while he waited a minute for the antiesthetic to take effect. It wasn’t long before William pulled himself upright.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” He sniffed and wiped his eyes roughly.

“I gave you some medicine to take the pain away.” Tommy smiled. “Now I need to give you a couple stitches to close up your cut, you won’t feel anything but you might not want to watch. If your tummy starts to feel funny I need you to let me know.” He started cleaning the area with gauze and a little sterile saline before picking up the needle drivers and getting to work. Tommy was painstaking in his technique, trying to ensure that the subcuticular sutures were perfectly aligned to minimize scarring as much as possible. It took longer than most stitch jobs in the ER would but he knew that the work was quality and the repair would hold without leaving lasting damage.

Once he’d finished stitching, he applied a layer of antibiotic ointment and pressed a tegaderm patch over the area to keep it clean. But his secret weapon was pulled from the pocket of his lab coat once his gloves were off. He topped the tegaderm with a batman sticker that had William beaming up at him.

“Thanks uncle Tommy.” He wrapped his arms around Tommy’s neck, who bent down in shock, wrapping an arm around the boy.

“You’re welcome Will.” Tommy pulled back and smiled down at him. “That is probably going to start hurting again when the injections wear off in a few hours so your dad will have some medicine for you if you’re in a lot of pain.” He ruffled William’s hair then turned to Oliver, pulling two bottles from his bag. “This is liquid Tylenol, the dosages are on the side, and if the pain is so bad that he can’t sleep here’s some with codeine.” Tommy passed the bottles to Oliver. “Maybe we should call Samantha so I can talk her through what she’ll need to do once William is back home in Central City?” Tommy spoke very carefully but his words still slammed into Oliver with all the emotional power of a semi-truck.

“God, how am I supposed to call her?” Oliver tugged his son into his arms, as though he may lose him, holding him close for as long as he had the privilege to.

“We’ll all do it together.” Felicity rubbed Oliver’s back to lend her support, he curled a little tighter around William, resting his cheek on the boys head and letting out a shaky breath.

“Okay.” He breathed softly. “Do you want to skype with your mom buddy?” Oliver asked quietly and William gave him an eager nod. The four of them made their way to Felicity’s office, Oliver carrying William on his hip. He sunk into the office chair, settling William on his lap while Felicity quickly booted up her system and dialed Samantha. When she backed away from the keyboard she rested her hand on Oliver’s shoulder to give him what strength she could.

The cheerful skype ringing had Oliver’s heart racing and he ran a hand over William’s hair a few times to try to calm himself, then Samantha’s smiling face was filling the screen.

“Hey sweetheart.” She smiled even brighter at William, giving him a little wave. “Hey Oliver.” She turned a warm smile on Oliver as well and he gave her a tight one in return.

“Hi mommy!” William waved enthusiastically.

“I wasn’t expecting a call from you guys until a little later.” A small confused wrinkle creased Sam’s brow. Oliver took a shaky breath to explain but William spoke up first.

“I got a bad owie and there was blood _everywhere_.” William’s voice held some level of wonder now that he wasn’t feeling any pain. “But uncle Tommy came over and gave me stiches, so I’m better now.” Samantha’s eyes were wide and she looked to Oliver.

“Tommy Merlyn gave my child stitches?” Her voice was dangerously close to a growl and Oliver sat up straighter.

“I knew Tommy could get to us faster than we could get to the hospital and be seen by a doctor.” Oliver wrapped his arms around William snugly, the little boy cuddled into his father’s embrace, unaware of the tension building between his parents.

“I once watched Tommy Merlyn pour vodka on an open wound before taking a swig and calling it good. Sorry if he isn’t the first person I think of for care when my son is injured.” Samantha bristled and Tommy stepped behind Oliver to crouch into the shot.

“Hey Sam, I’m right here by the way.” He waved with a cocky smirk and she turned her harsh eyes to him.

“That doesn’t change anything Tommy.” She snapped.

“You do know that I’m a doctor now, right?” He asked carefully, feeling a little chastised by the angry mother on the other side of the screen.

“Of course.” She deflated slightly, rubbing at her forehead. “It was just a knee jerk reaction, sorry about that.”

“No worries, I’ve gotten much worse from mother’s in the hospital.” He shot her a quick smile before clearing his throat. “I just wanted to let you know about follow up care, the stitches can come out in seven to ten days but keep an eye on it, if there are any signs of heat or swelling take him in to get checked out. And he needs to take it easy for at least five days while the bulk of the healing happens. A little Tylenol if he’s in pain, but I expect after tomorrow he won’t feel a thing. I’ll have Oliver give you my number, you can call me anytime if you have any questions at all.” Samantha gave a tight smile.

“Thank you Tommy, I appreciate that.” Tommy waved her off and stepped out of frame, Oliver practically vibrated with nerves now that Samantha turned her attention back to him. “So how exactly did this happen?” She asked on a sigh and William’s cheeks turned pink.

“I was running with a cup, I fell and it broke.” William’s voice was dejected.

“William,” Her hands returned to her forehead. “You know better, why would you run in the house with a glass?” Samantha was firm but gentle and William bowed his head.

“I was just too excited.” Oliver smoothed his hands down his boy’s arms and looked at Samantha.

“Sam, I’m so sorry, I know I should have been watching him more closely.” Oliver’s voice shook with fear, he was terrified that he had broken Samantha’s trust and that William would be taken away from him.

“Oliver.” She gave him an amused smile. “He’s a little boy, they get hurt. It’s normal.” Relief crashed over Oliver like a wave and he hid his misty eyes by placing a long kiss on William’s head. He dragged in a ragged breath and straightened back up.

“Hey buddy do you want to go play games on Felicity’s tablet in the living room?” Oliver tickled William’s sides and the little boy giggled happily with a nod. Scurrying off his father’s lap and grabbing Felicity’s hand to head out of the room.

“I need to get back to the hospital.” Tommy clapped Oliver on the shoulder firmly.

“Thank you buddy.” Oliver covered Tommy’s hand with his own. “Call me after you sleep off your shift.”

“You got it.” With one more pat to Oliver’s shoulder Tommy headed out, shutting the door behind him.

“So,” Oliver started with a shaking breath. “It will be Christmas and Hanukkah in a couple weeks, Felicity and I would really like to fly you and William out here to spend the holidays with us.” He rubbed his palms against his jeans nervously. “Or if you would prefer we could fly out to Central City.” Oliver offered quickly. Samantha’s brows drew together with confusion.

“What about your family?” She asked quietly.

“William is my family.” Oliver said, with conviction. “And so are you.” He spoke firmly. “You have done an incredible job raising our son, and you deserve an all-expenses paid holiday vacation. So, whatever you want to do, let’s do it.” Oliver gave her a tremulous smile and she responded in kind.

“Well, that is a very generous offer, and I would be willing to have you here for dinner but unfortunately my parents aren’t exactly on board with our arrangement.” She gave a sheepish smile. “They don’t want you to have any contact with William and they wouldn’t be at all interested in holiday dinner involving you.” Oliver bowed his head and nodded in understanding. “I don’t agree with them, if you were at all worried about that.” His head whipped up and she tried to reassure him with her eyes. “I think spending the holidays together as a family sounds nice.”

“Well, wherever you want to go, maybe the Maldives? Or Polynesia?” Oliver offered.

“How about we let William choose?”

And that is how the Smoak-Queen-Clayton clan spent their first holiday as a family at Lego Land.

*FIN*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Description of simple medical procedure on a child (sutures)
> 
> We've reached the end of another story and I'm so thankful that you have all kept reading over this journey with me. There will be a new story starting next week so please subscribe to the series to get a notification when I post that chapter... I'm not done writing the final story yet but I'm already in love with it and I can't wait to share it with you.
> 
> Please let me know what you think of this final chapter, you're all my favorite and reading your comments give me life every week =]


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